Introduction: this project studied the roles played in the food cycle within the domestic environment, revisiting the concept of the "food gatekeeper". Methods: information was obtained from 10 ethnographies and 24 in-depth interviews with people responsible for food tasks in low-income households in Santiago, Chile, during the pandemic. A thematic analysis was conducted from the framework of food environments and gender. Results: the results showed that the time allocated to the food cycle is highly unequal between genders and women are held responsible for the nutritional well-being of families. This role entails putting the feeding of others before their own. Conclusions: in conclusion, the need to consider the distribution of roles in nutritional health interventions is emphasized, avoiding reproducing risky practices for health and quality of life of food gatekeepers, by overexerting them under the justification of effectiveness in the transmission of healthy habits to families.