“I Haven't Eaten If I Don't Have My Soup and Fufu”: Cultural Preservation through Food and Foodways among Ghanaian Migrants in the United States

Food and foodways play a key role in protecting and preserving cultural sustainability. The smell of familiar foods can instantly evoke a series of emotions and desires because food customs are carriers of identity, memory, and tradition, yet accessing recognizable foods is often difficult and chall...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Africa today 2014-09, Vol.61 (1), p.69-87
Main Author:	Williams-Forson, Psyche
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Africa African studies Behavior Blacks Consumer behavior Cooking Cultural behaviour Cultural sustainability Ethnic Identity Ethnicity Food Food and nutrition Food consumption Food habits Food movements Foodways Ghana Ghanaians Immigrants Markets Memory Migrants Multiculturalism & pluralism Preservation Psyche Social aspects Sociology and Anthropology Soups Sustainability Sustainable agriculture Sustainable food systems Taste Traditions U.S.A United States of America
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Summary:	Food and foodways play a key role in protecting and preserving cultural sustainability. The smell of familiar foods can instantly evoke a series of emotions and desires because food customs are carriers of identity, memory, and tradition, yet accessing recognizable foods is often difficult and challenging for migrants to the United States, because of lack of availability, cost, and a host of other factors. This essay considers the ways in which some West Africans from Ghana negotiate their surroundings—and identities—when obtaining African foods in America. It argues that cultural sustainability is attainable in the United States as a result of ethnic markets, gardens, and other food centers that serve as conduits between home and the host country.
ISSN:	0001-9887 1527-1978