FOOD/HEALTH/ MIGRATION
Observing Bodegas in the Bronx
In order to develop a more whole picture of how processed snack foods are marketed in the Bronx, I visited three bodegas by the Lehman College campus to observe their placement of processed food snacks and interview store owners inductively to gauge their perception of the processed snack foods they sell and their placement in the store.
As an Anthropology Major, I still wanted to incorporate the unstructured interview method of research into my project because of the breadth of knowledge it provides researchers. This inductive method of research was incorporated into my project through my open-ended discussions with these store owners. The names and addresses of the bodegas I visited are the following:
As an Anthropology Major, I still wanted to incorporate the unstructured interview method of research into my project because of the breadth of knowledge it provides researchers. This inductive method of research was incorporated into my project through my open-ended discussions with these store owners. The names and addresses of the bodegas I visited are the following:
- Adam’s Deli and Grocery - 239 Bedford Park Blvd, The Bronx, NY 10458
- Candy and Smoke Shop - 48 E Kingsbridge Rd, The Bronx, NY 10468
- El Rancho Deli and Grocery - 19 E Kingsbridge Rd, The Bronx, NY 10468
Surveying the Immigrant Community at Lehman College
In order to answer my main question, which is how do immigrant communities in the Bronx associate color with processed snack foods, I surveyed students at the Lehman College campus. Lehman College is a public 4-year commuter school that is located in the northern Bronx with a high population of minority students that mostly reside in the Bronx.
In an unstructured practice-interview with a woman immigrant from Brooklyn who grew up in Nassau County, Long Island, I found that she did not relate to my experience of chronically purchasing unhealthy snack foods from bodegas by her because she lived much closer to a supermarket than a bodega. When asking her what color she would associate to processed snack foods, she mentioned several colors, including red, yellow and brown, but was not certain on any one of them because she did not have much experience with processed snack foods. This displayed to me that geography is a major factor in analyzing whether or not immigrants can even associate color to processed snack foods due to lack of exposure to them. Due to the density of bodegas in the Bronx, I was nearly certain this would not be the case with participants in the Bronx.
In an unstructured practice-interview with a woman immigrant from Brooklyn who grew up in Nassau County, Long Island, I found that she did not relate to my experience of chronically purchasing unhealthy snack foods from bodegas by her because she lived much closer to a supermarket than a bodega. When asking her what color she would associate to processed snack foods, she mentioned several colors, including red, yellow and brown, but was not certain on any one of them because she did not have much experience with processed snack foods. This displayed to me that geography is a major factor in analyzing whether or not immigrants can even associate color to processed snack foods due to lack of exposure to them. Due to the density of bodegas in the Bronx, I was nearly certain this would not be the case with participants in the Bronx.
In order to gauge the success of this method of data collection in my target community, I approached students in the Music Building Cafeteria at Lehman College on April 17th, 2019 and asked them first, if they were immigrants, and second, about their socioeconomic background. I found that while some students were receptive to the questioning, others found it invasive and did not appear to trust me, although I prefaced my questions with an introduction of my project as an Anthropology senior project. After careful reflection, I found that the primary reason for this was not just that these two questions I asked were invasive, but because I could not articulate how my project would be helpful to the Lehman College immigrant community.
For this reason, I elected to forego deeper questioning and decided to focus only on directly necessary qualitative and quantitative research. I also stepped outside of my own shoes and made the realization that as a person being approached with a survey, my only goal is to finish the survey as quickly as possible. My personal philosophy on my fieldwork evolved to the minimalist approach. I ultimately decided that because my research intrinsically does not have a direct benefit to those who I am observing and surveying, it is my responsibility to collect only the necessary information for my research and take as little space, time and energy from my participants as possible. This ensures that I am respecting the boundaries of my participants. I drafted my final survey with three short and straight-forward questions that address all facets of my research question and I elected to ask them with structural adherence.
The three final questions I boiled my research down to are:
- Are you from the Bronx?
- Are you an immigrant?
- Which of the following colors do you most associate to processed food snacks (i.e. chips, candy and baked goods one can find in a bodega): red, yellow, orange, black, or blue?