Submission ID 132022
| Issue/Objective | For many African immigrants, adapting their food practices in host countries is not simply a matter of preference but a necessity shaped by structural constraints that limit access to culturally preferred foods. These constraints influence everyday food decisions, identity, and wellbeing. At the same time, food remains central to cultural continuity through the transmission of values, traditions, and intergenerational knowledge. As individuals resettle within new food systems, adaptation becomes an ongoing process through which they navigate change while attempting to preserve culturally meaningful ways of eating. Despite growing research, limited attentions had been paid to how adaptation, food sovereignty, and cultural continuity intersect in daily life, particularly in the Canadian context and in mid-sized cities where culturally specific food infrastructure and community networks are less developed. This study explored how first- and second-generation African-Canadian immigrants in the Waterloo-Wellington region navigate and adapt to local good environments post-migration. |
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| Methodology/Approach | Guided by the African Oral Traditional Storytelling (AOTS) framework, an Afrocentric methodology that centers participants as knowledge holders, this study draws on 25 semi structured interviews and two Fireside Chat sessions conducted across Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, and Guelph. Photo elicitation was used during group session to prompt discussion of food practices. Data were analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis, with transcripts coded inductively and iteratively in NVivo 14, followed by the development, review, and refinement of categories to reflect participants' lived experiences. |
| Results | Three overarching categories were identified: (1) Honouring and Adapting Cultural Food Practices, (2) Connecting to Culture Through Land and Food, and (3) Establishing Community Networks. Adaptation was shown as a dynamic process shaped by structural constraints, social relationships, and individual agency rather than a simple shift toward assimilation to dominant societal food norms. Participants sustained culturally meaningful diets by modifying cooking practices, substituting ingredients, sourcing food across multiple retailers, and relying on community networks. Limited access to and the high costs of land further constrained cultural land-based food practices, highlighting the extensive labour required to maintain cultural continuity. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | This paper examined the experiences and perceptions of first- and second-generation ACIs within Waterloo-Wellington Regions, with a focus on how individuals adapt to local food environments following migration while sustaining cultural continuity and food sovereignty. The findings demonstrated that adaptation was not indicative of cultural loss or assimilation but rather reflects a dynamic and negotiated process shaped by structural constraints, social relationships, and individual agency. Participants employed a range of adaptive strategies to maintain culturally meaningful diets, including modifying cooking practices, substituting ingredients, sourcing food across multiple retailers, and adopting preservation techniques. These efforts highlighted the everyday labour involved in sustaining cultural foodways within environments where access to culturally familiar foods remains limited. Dietary adaptation and cultural continuity are deeply interconnected processes embedded within broader social and structural conditions. Adaptation operates as an active negotiation through which immigrants preserve identity, sustain traditions, and reshape their food environments. These findings highlighted the need for community-based, culturally appropriate and dignity-centred food initiatives that extend beyond initial settlement. Expanding land access and supporting community-based food programs may strengthen food sovereignty while fostering continuity, belonging, and resilience among African Canadian immigrant in mid-sized cities. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Rhoda Omache University of Waterloo Rhoda Omache University of Waterloo Hannah Neufeld University of Waterloo |
