Table 2.

Social environment: the roles of work and the nuclear family in deciding what to feed their children. Data collected from thirty in-depth interviews, a participatory workshop and a photovoice approach among Latina mothers with <10-year-old children living in a ‘food swamp’ in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, April–May 2015

Sub-themes	Illustrative quotes
2·1. Mothers have limited social networks to rely upon
2·1a. Neighbours	‘I work from 2 a.m.; I get out at 11 a.m., and I come home and make food since they are in school.’
	‘There is just the one other child who is not in school and others take care of him for me.’
2·1b. Nuclear family	‘Thank God that he is one of those men that are good for working and that have always brought money home and responsible.’
	’And I also have my mother-in-law who sometimes helps me with food.’
2·2. Informal work presents both a barrier and a facilitator to feeding their children	‘We all work. We take care of children in our houses; we sell things, and when we do not have a fixed job with benefits, that worries us. But usually, whenever a little job comes up, each one of us does it and we get ahead.’ (Culminating workshop discussion)