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Cross-Cultural Psychology

Food: A Bridge Between Cultures and People

Food and culture: An interview with Luckyrice founder Danielle Chang.

Key points

  • Food brings people closer together.
  • Curiosity and sharing meals can be a bridge between cultures.
  • Research shows that sharing meals benefits mental health and well-being.

At age 5, Danielle Chang immigrated to the United States with her family. In grade school, while she sifted through her lunchboxes full of cultural treats ranging from eggs to a chicken foot, she faced ridicule. Other kids encircled her on the playground, chanting words in a language she could not yet fully understand. Two words that Danielle's ears did recognize were, "Ching Chang," a mocking phrase that happened to be her mother's name.

Since then, Danielle has integrated culinary arts with her experiences as a first-generation Chinese immigrant to foster unity and belonging. She has become the founder and CEO of LUCKYRICE and host of the Emmy-nominated PBS series Lucky Chow. With endeavors as diverse as igniting food festivals in large cities, she is bridging connections and fighting xenophobia.

Danielle says that breaking bread can bring people together across cultures, communities, and families. With so much division and loneliness today, I wonder, "Could joining through food play a role in improving well-being?" In a quest to explore this, I spoke with Danielle.

Source: Courtesy of Danielle Chang

"Eating around a big table." –Danielle Chang

Appreciating family has always been central to Danielle's life. She portrays what she calls "a common immigrant story." Her parents worked with incredible vigor to build a new life in the United States and carve out a space. Yet, Danielle's family always took time to eat meals together. She paints a vivid picture of her family gathered around this table, even with all this bustling activity, each night. This is something she could look forward to and a way for them to relax. Rice and soup were two staples that Danielle says especially "smell and taste like home," which Danielle still loves today.

When Chang reached adulthood, she continued this tradition through Sunday dinner parties, using meals to engage with friends and family. She illustrates casual but sacred gatherings with intentionally selected foods. In Chinese culture, specific foods and food colors are linked with symbolism, such as gratitude and well wishes. She discusses a custom wherein families in China will sometimes create food as an offering to ancestors and create a prosperous harvest while also enjoying food together with those still alive.

What Danielle illuminates here is not rare. Be it among the fellow “old folks” my grandpa ate breakfast with every morning at a local Hardees for years until he died, or in families sharing around a table in another country, food brings people together across all times and places. It is something so simple and vital to our lives that brings with it comfort and meaning.

Youth who partake in meals with their families tend to exude greater psychological and social health than those who do not have this privilege (Glanz et al., 2021). Among aging populations living in nursing care or retirement facilities, community meals are associated with positive outcomes (Björnwall et al., 2021). Even in psychiatric settings, having a meal together is sometimes utilized in multi-family group therapy for families affected by serious mental illness. Here, therapists often meet with several families in a support group community. Sharing a meal can give a sense of normalization to the difficult experience these families are going through while also facilitating conversations that might not otherwise ignite in a typical therapy environment (Chow et al., 2010).

"When you have a good meal, you want to learn more." –Danelle Chang.

Through her many endeavors, Danielle has sought to grant others a small window into her Chinese heritage. She expresses that reactions to food are usually glowing with curiosity. Danielle expands, "Food is the most palliative and universal lens through which people experience a culture that sticks. When you have a good meal you want to learn more about the ingredients, the cooking method, any kind of symbolism behind the food, and that just brings you closer to the culture."

Food is a part of all cultures. The interest sparked by food can be an enemy of ignorance. If people can slow down and eat a meal together, sometimes even deep-rooted challenges like xenophobia can be chipped away at. We can remember what we have in common and what we can learn from each other.

Source: Courtesy of Danielle Chang

"A literal melting pot." –Danielle Chang

In my conversation with Danielle, I learned a new term, "hot pot." A hot pot is a communal dish wherein individuals will crowd around meats, dumplings, and other foods that can be dipped and cooked in a boiling pot of hot water or soup. Each person's contribution changes the taste of the broth. All participants can enjoy their chosen foods. After completing the first round of food, the party will distribute the soup, taking in a co-created meal. She calls this "a literal melting pot."

As I listen to Danielle, my first response is, "I want to do that!" Secondly, however, I am struck by the beautiful representation of joining together and co-creation. A tradition that perhaps we all can learn from.

"Lunar New Year is for everyone." –Danielle Chang

The Lunar New Year for 2025 begins on Jan. 29. This holiday celebrates the changing of the seasons as measured through the changing of the moon. Reunion, cooking, and making dumplings give rise to the charm of this holiday. Enjoying whole foods (for wholeness), candy (for sweetness), and a palate of other foods designed to welcome prosperity into the coming year are aspects of these celebrations.

Danielle Chang is participating in an art installation in the Oculus at the World Trade Center featuring a 150-foot sculpture shaped like a snake with two parts that create a yin-yang snake symbol representing harmony. The equal parts are designed to give a message of duality and of how together we can be more than the sum of our parts.

When I expressed my interest in this celebration from afar, Danielle graciously exclaimed, “Lunar New Year is for Everyone!”

As we all seek to build up connections, whether between different cultures or even just among two neighbors, this piece is a reminder of how we can be stronger together.

Closing

Danielle's story is a profile of creating belonging. I believe we can all learn from one another. Food can be a catalyst in this. Danielle believes that scheduled family meals, even arranged through a calendar invite, are a small step we can all take toward engaging food as a means for getting closer to each other.

References

Björnwall, A., Mattsson Sydner, Y., Koochek, A., & Neuman, N. (2021). Eating alone or together among community-living older people—a scoping review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(7), 3495.

Chow, W., Law, S., Andermann, L., Yang, J., Leszcz, M., Wong, J., & Sadavoy, J. (2010). Multi-Family Psycho-Education Group for Assertive Community Treatment clients and families of culturally diverse background: A pilot study. Community mental health journal, 46, 364-371.

Glanz, K., Metcalfe, J. J., Folta, S. C., Brown, A., & Fiese, B. (2021). Diet and health benefits associated with in-home eating and sharing meals at home: a systematic review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 18(4), 1577.

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