Adapting surplus food distribution during COVID-19: the hidden infrastructures of labour, care, and community resilience in Ireland

COVID-19 created unprecedented challenges for community and voluntary organizations that distribute surplus food. Within a commissioned study of the impact of the pandemic on the Irish NGO – FoodCloud – resilience and hidden labor emerged as central to continuance of services. This paper examines how FoodCloud-partnered organizations adapted distribution practices during the crisis. Drawing on interviews, stimulated by photo-elicitation, it reveals how resilience was enacted through logistical improvisation, physical labor and emotional work to sustain values of dignity and connection. It shows how the community development approach shaped adaptation, including efforts to minimize stigma and maintain connection under crisis conditions.