As a child in Honduras, Carlos
Colindres enjoyed snacks and breakfasts of fresh guavas, papayas, tortillas
with beans, cheese, and chorizo. However, when he moved to Maryland at 13, he
had to settle for school-provided breakfasts of milk, cereal, and mangoes imported
from Florida. He found this change frustrating and often wondered if they would
ever find the foods they wanted at grocery stores.
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During the '90s and 2000s, Carlos remembers that the Honduran staples his family enjoyed became more accessible in local grocery stores. Now, it's relatively easy for him to find them at markets near his home in the Fairfax, Virginia, area.
However, there are still some
things missing. He wanted to taste certain types of foods, some dishes, and
some fruits that are not available here. He had that nostalgia for a long time.
So, in 2017, Colindres returned to Honduras for the first time since he was a
teenager to satisfy those years-long cravings.
When he arrived at his sisters'
house, he was greeted with the smell of his favorite dish from his childhood:
nacarigüe, or corn rice soup. The next day, Colindres stopped by the mercado
and polished off plenty of local produce that, while delicious, gave him a
stomach bug and ultimately landed him in the hospital, he recalled.
"That nostalgia, having not been able to have that taste in your mouth
for so long, you know, it was great having that feeling back," he
said. "I paid the consequences, but
I think it was all worth it."
Many individuals, including first- and second-generation immigrants, refugees, Native Americans, and people of color, are also longing for the comfort of foods tied to their culture. Across the U.S., they are struggling to obtain, eat, and share culturally appropriate foods to varying degrees. This issue may only worsen as levels of food insecurity rise. The problem is that lacking access to culturally relevant foods can harm mental well-being.
The State Of Cultural Food
Insecurity In The U.S.
Food insecurity isn't just about
famine and extreme malnutrition, as depicted in commercials for international
hunger relief organizations, although these are real cases. It often occurs
right in your community, as explained by Rebecca Hagedorn-Hatfield, a
registered dietitian nutritionist and assistant professor of food and nutrition
at Meredith College who studies college food insecurity.
In 2022, 12.8% of U.S. households, totaling 17 million, were food insecure, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This means that at times during the year, these households were unsure if they would have enough food to meet each person's needs for a healthy, active life, due to insufficient money or resources, based on USDA standards. This is an increase from 10.2%, or 13.5 million households, in 2021.
The USDA's definition of food
insecurity overlooks culturally appropriate foods. Historically, culturally
preferred foods have been excluded from the food security conversation, noted
Hagedorn-Hatfield.
The dominance of Western foods in
the food system has contributed to cultural food insecurity, explained
Hagedorn-Hatfield. The promotion of meals like chicken, broccoli, and rice, for
example, may not be culturally appropriate for all populations.
Cultural food insecurity was not
clearly defined until 2008 when Elaine Power described it as having unreliable
access to traditional foods through traditional practices. A decade later,
Elena Briones Alonso and colleagues expanded on that definition to include four
key pillars: access, availability, utilization (food preparation, sharing, and
consumption), and stability.
The scale of cultural food insecurity in the U.S. is not clear. While some smaller organizations, such as food banks, have developed their own methods to assess its prevalence, there is no standardized approach, said Kathrine Wright, who holds a PhD and a master's in public health. Without nationally representative data, it is difficult to determine the extent of the issue. Wright stated, "But in the United States, we’ve been going through an immigration boom for the last few decades. Just combining all that together, it’s most likely a big issue that’s really not being addressed."
Marginalized groups in the U.S.
have historically experienced higher rates of food insecurity. According to
USDA data, more than 22% of Black and nearly 21% of Hispanic households were
food insecure in 2022, which is an increase from 2021. Wright noted, "By association, they’re going to experience
higher rates of cultural food insecurity."
The same applies to Native American households, 23% of which were food insecure in 2022, a consequence of centuries of federal policies that disrupted tribal foodways and systems. In comparison, only 9% of white households were food insecure during the same year, according to USDA data.
Transportation barriers can make it
challenging for some individuals to access food stores that offer culturally
appropriate foods, according to Mya Price, the director of Feeding America's
Food Security Equity Impact Fund. Even when traditional foods are available,
they may not be fresh or affordable, added Wright.
In some communities, the issue is
exacerbated by a lack of awareness among advocates and policymakers who are not
on the ground, noted Price. Those deciding what is available in food banks or
pantries may not be having conversations with community members about preferred
foods and prioritizing those needs.
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"If somebody comes to a food pantry to access food and it’s something that they’re not familiar with, how are they going to use it?" Hagedorn-Hatfield added. "At the end of the day, if it’s not something that is appropriate for their culture if we’re forcing them to use it, that’s not beneficial."
How Cultural Food Access Affects
Well-Being
Growing up food insecure and in
poverty, Wright often heard the phrase "beggars can't be choosers." She recalls eating boxed mac and
cheese from food pantries day after day. This kind of experience "kind of just wreaks havoc on your soul,"
she said. "You don’t feel very good
mentally, emotionally and physically. And that’s been the sentiment as well
when it comes to cultural food insecurity."
Food is more than just a source of nutrients. It plays a central role in social and familial functions, serving as a comfort and coping mechanism, says Hagedorn-Hatfield. It is also crucial to identity. Foodways—the preparing, sharing, and consuming of food—help preserve and pass on cultural identity. Without them, people are likely to experience acculturative stress and culture shock, which can negatively impact one's identity and well-being.
"It tends to be seen as abandoning one’s community [or] family religion,
like letting your ancestors down," Wright explained. "And so this emotional stress that’s brought
on by the loss of culture may not be alleviated, which can lead to negative
impacts for mental health." This can result in a lack of enjoyment
while eating, sluggishness, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and feelings of
sadness, shame, guilt, and disconnect from one’s identity, as found in a 2021
qualitative study conducted by Wright and her colleagues.
On the other hand, embracing
cultural foodways can enhance well-being. In a 2023 review of the relationship
between diet and mental health of immigrants in Western societies, researchers
found that eating culturally appropriate foods appeared to help with mental
health issues and enhanced immigrants’ well-being.
The psychological safety and nostalgia that familiar foods from one's culture provide are key, says Maggie Moon, a registered dietitian and brain health nutrition expert. Recent research suggests that food-evoked nostalgia is linked to positive affect, self-esteem, social connectedness, and the meaning of life. Another trial found a link between feeling nostalgic and eating more healthfully.
"When [people] think about their comfort foods and their nostalgic
foods, it generally takes them back to a time when they were safe, when someone
was taking care of them — and often that’s childhood," Moon said.
When Price was collecting stories from Black community members in New Orleans as part of her research, she asked questions like, "What does it mean to be healthy?" and "What foods make you feel good as a community and as an individual?" Black elders consistently spoke to the importance of staples that have historically had strong cultural connections, such as fish, greens, and beans. "Some of those rich items that are tied to the New Orleans style and culture play such a key component to how they live each and every day," she said. "They talked not only about how those items are meaningful, but how they celebrate those items and how it makes them feel good as individuals."
How Mental Health Can Affect
Physical Health
The feeling of improved well-being
extends to physical health as well. For example, individuals who migrate to
Western countries may shift their diet from one that's healthy and plant-based
toward one that's high in fatty, processed, and energy-dense foods, known as the
global nutrition transition.
"The literature also states that preservation of traditional dietary habits and the prevention of acculturation to the American diet is better for one's health generally," Wright said. "Immigrants tend to experience an increased risk of developing diabetes, obesity, depression, and other chronic diseases by switching to an American diet."
This combination of poor mental and
physical health due, in part, to a lack of cultural food access can become a
positive feedback loop. Greater psychological distress predicted less fruit and
vegetable intake and physical activity in a 2019 study of nearly 55,000
Canadian adults. Additionally, past physical health can have strong effects on
current mental health, research suggests.
"There's often this idea that 'food is food,' and cultural food security is often seen as a low priority," Wright said. "Through [my] research, I've been trying to change that mindset. Food should fill all of your well-being and make you feel whole and satiated in more ways than just satiating hunger."
Working Toward A Future With
Cultural Food Access
Significant progress toward
adequate cultural food access requires efforts from both state and federal
governments, according to Hagedorn-Hatfield.
Federal nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) help families dealing with food insecurity purchase foods that align with their cultural, dietary, or religious needs, says Kelly Horton, the chief program officer for the Food Research & Action Center. In October 2021, maximum SNAP benefits were increased by 21% to more accurately reflect the cost of a healthy diet. Horton noted that people are now getting more dollars per day to purchase more food, and they are using that to buy more healthy foods, specifically fruits and vegetables.
The Gus Schumacher Nutrition
Incentive Program supports projects that help low-income individuals purchase
more fruits and vegetables, such as Double Up Food Bucks and produce
prescription programs.
Some communities are receiving
funding specifically to support cultural food access. In 2022, the Biden
administration released the White House National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition,
and Health to improve food access and affordability. Under this strategy,
additional funds have been allocated to Native American Self-Determination
Demonstration Projects. These projects allow tribal communities participating
in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) to purchase
foods, particularly ones that meet cultural preferences, and utilize vendors of
their choosing, including tribal vendors.
However, these efforts are just one small step in the right direction and come with limitations. Some Republican lawmakers have proposed reversing the 2021 increase in SNAP benefits, which threatens access to both nutritious and culturally appropriate food, says Horton. Demonstration projects aren’t permanent, and in rural areas, sites with culturally relevant options may not be set up to accept SNAP, Hagedorn-Hatfield added.
Moreover, immigrants or refugees
may not know SNAP is available or feel comfortable enrolling due to immigration
status or language barriers. “It’s a
great program — it’s increasing food access as a whole,” Hagedorn-Hatfield
noted. “But when we think about those
specific populations that we’re not seeing having access to food, specifically
not having access to cultural food, there’s definitely room for those programs
to [improve]...so that populations can access the food that makes the most
sense for them.”
To support cultural food access at
a local level, community members need to be part of the solution. For example,
the San Xavier Cooperative Farm in Arizona is revitalizing traditional
foodways. Located 65 miles west of Tucson on the 2.8 million-acre Tohono
O’odham Nation, which has just one grocery store with often high prices, the
farm is growing more tepary beans, a dietary staple whose annual yield on the
Nation shrank from about 1 million in the 1920s to a couple of hundred pounds
in the 2000s, said Amy Juan, the Farm’s administration manager.
Today, the Farm is growing a few thousand pounds of tepary beans each year, encouraging kids to become the next generation of farmers, and optimizing seed-saving efforts to ensure there’s enough to meet the Nation’s demands in the future.
At food banks and pantries, the
volunteers should not decide which items are distributed to those in need.
"Everyone has their own dietary
patterns, and there are reasons behind that — religious reasons, ethical
reasons, cultural reasons," said Hagedorn-Hatfield.
"Our job in the food safety net is to make sure that people have access
to those foods [that fit], not access to the foods that we deem appropriate."
This means asking locals which foods they want and need from, for instance, a
food pantry, and what barriers may be preventing them from utilizing the
offerings.
Individual efforts should not be
overlooked. Hosting a food drive in your community, specifying the need for
foods that are appropriate for your neighbors’ cultures or religions, can make
a difference. If you’re able, spend your dollars at small cultural grocery
stores rather than big-box retailers, suggests Wright.
Supporting your local food system —
its growers, advocates, and community initiatives — can make a significant
difference in reducing food access disparities. "The local food system is the future," Price said, "and it
will continue to be that way."
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