Partial results of a qualitative study that explored from a gender perspective in food meanings in people living in poverty condition in the Metropolitan Region of Chile are presented. Using as data collection technique the semi structured interviews, 20 people were consulted, men and women between 17 and 65 years of communities of La Pintana, El Bosque, Lo Espejo, Puente Alto and San Ramon, about their culinary practices. The results show a food system with distinct roles of age and gender, where the consumption of red meat and its derivatives, meal variability and preparations are especially appreciated, but above all, satiety and taste. Children emerge as new agents that affect decisions about what they will eat, in relation to which it is possible to influence towards changing eating patterns.