Eating Together, Separately: Intergroup Communication and Food in a Multiethnic Community

• In Event: Implications of Intergroup Communication on Health and Well-Being

Abstract

In multiethnic communities, food pathways can bring diverse residents into contact in restaurants and the aisles of grocery stores—though the communication that ensues does not always lead to greater understanding. Drawing from Communication Infrastructure Theory and Intergroup Contact Theory, this paper explores the relationship between food practices and how residents perceive their community and members of other ethnic groups. The paper synthesizes findings from a survey, field observations, and interviews with Asian, Latino, and Anglo residents in a majority-minority city in Los Angeles County. Findings suggest that commercial food spaces in Alhambra, CA may be acting as communication assets for residents who eat across cultural boundaries. However the storytelling networks within these spaces are largely ethnically-bounded and the content of the stories is often negative. Future exploration of non-commercial food activities may help to inform interventions attempting to use food to facilitate shared community narratives and feelings of belonging.

Author

• Andrea Wenzel, U of Southern California - Annenberg School for Communication