Ithaca College

 The article, "Contextualizing the Immigrant Experience: The Role of Food and Foodways in Identity Maintenance and Formation for First- and Second Generation Latinos in Ithaca, New York," is based on research that Weller carried out while a student at Ithaca College. Weller's original paper won the prestigious Christine Wilson Award, presented to outstanding undergraduate and graduate student research papers that examine topics within the perspectives of nutrition, food studies and anthropology.

 Weller and Turkon collaborated to expand the theoretical and conclusion sections of the paper and submitted it to Ecology Food and Nutrition, which agreed to publish it. Weller is currently a graduate student in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University. Following is the abstract: 

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.