This study examines the role of food and foodways in identity maintenance and formation for Latino individuals in Ithaca, New York. Preliminary results indicate that food provides a physical link that connects individuals to their heritage culture and local communities. Despite variability in the importance that immigrants attribute to food, it remains one of the most resilient tools that informants identified as central to identity formation and maintenance. Food can therefore be a useful tool for examining the degree to which immigrants are maintaining their cultural identity and connectedness with their community. © , Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Latino Food Immigrant identity maintenance identity formation

cultural anthropology Culture immigrant demography Social Identification human middle aged diet feeding behavior Food migrants experience New York [United States] family size Hispanic Americans Family Characteristics Residence Characteristics United States Young Adult Humans migrant Hispanic Adolescent New York male Emigrants and Immigrants cultural identity female cultural heritage Latino people adult migration Food Habits Emigration and Immigration social behavior Ithaca [New York]