A food shopping aid for international homemakers

Abstract

Our university community includes a large population of foreign students and their families, many of whom find locating favorite or familiar food items to be a frustrating task. To assist individuals in identifying stores that cater to certain cultural or otherwise special cooking styles or food preferences, we developed a checklist of hard-to-find items (see Figure) and surveyed local merchants. The actual size of the checklist is 81/2 x 11. In theupperleft-hand corner of the form, there is space for basic store information (i.e., name, address, and hours of operation) as well as space for listing any foreign languages spoken by the store's staff. The left-hand column of the page contains a list of cooking styles. XX marked beside a cooking style indicates that the store carries food items commonly associated with that style. The middleand right-hand columns are devoted to identifying specialty food items that the store carries. Some food categories list more than one food item or more than one food form. If all items or forms are available, an X is placed next to the food category. However, if the store carries only some of the items or forms within a category, an X is placed next to the category, and the available items or forms are circled. Space at the bottom of the page allows listing of additional food items, cooking styles, or other information unique to a particular store. With local merchants' permission and markets. We arranged the checklists alphabetically, by store name, and bound the reference using an inexpensive softcover binder. To provide directions for using the resource and additional contacts for assistance, we inserted an introductory page preceding the store checklists. We have distributed copies to appropriate offices throughout the community, including the university's foreign student office, the student health center's nutrition clinic, a nutrition information center, and local social service agencies. Feedback from staff who have used the resource with their clients has been positive and enthusiastic.