Feeding the City, Empowering the Citizens: An Ethnography of Solidarity Economy in the Municipality of Ankara

This study analyses the networks of grassroots associations which constitute the solidarity economy food chains in Ankara. It is based on a one–year ethnographic study that considered the activities of these networks and connected the ethnographic findings to broader global dynamics related to food chains. The association and networks involved are first described, with a focus on their practices and purposes, and similar cases in other cities in the literature are determined to reach a general conclusion. The main findings of the research are that grassroots associations in Ankara, as with ones triangulated with the existing literature, have a significant impact on the connections between the city and its citizens, as well as between urban and rural areas, by developing alternative practices of food production and exchange. These practices originate from the perceived impoverishment of urban spaces in relation to the loss of both green and farming areas, in addition to local traditional knowledge related to food. Although the social networks of these associations are relatively limited, there is significant potential in terms of advocacy and sensibilization. Moreover, there was growth in critical approaches to urban food and environmental policies during the period of our research due to crises over food prices and COVID-19. The resilience shown by these networks during such times of crisis, as well as their capacity to focus on structural weakness of the food chains in general, and of Ankara urban development model in particular, emphasise the contemporary political relevance of these practices and ideas