Vasquez-Tokos, JessicaBuckingham, Lilia2024-08-302024-08-302024https://hdl.handle.net/1794/2989147 pagesFood is both a uniting and separating force. It unites people under certain traditions and cultures and creates a collective understanding and community with food as its symbolic center. In this thesis, I am interested in exploring the connection between identity formation and food, utilizing an intersectional lens of ethnicity and class to see potential differences in this formation. How does food form parts of one’s identity, and what are various social categories that might influence this identity formation? Specifically, the intersections that this research is interested in exploring are socioeconomic status and ethnicity, which are intersections that are often closely connected and impacted by each other. While there is bountiful research to show that socioeconomic status, in tandem with ethnicity, influences what kind of food you can purchase, there is not much research that also involves symbolism and identity formation, giving the research a unique take on this connection. Using semi-structured interviews, 10 participants discussed their own personal relationship to their identity, food, and ethnic culture. These participants were then categorized into two main categories based on class status: college students and post-college participants. General findings saw that while both groups shared common limiting factors that prohibited engagement with their ethnic identity through food, college students had a more difficult time engaging due to lack of financial resources.en-USCC BY-NC-ND 4.0FoodIdentityEthnicitySocioeconomic StatusCollegeThesis/Dissertation0009-0009-9770-0372