2021 | Struggle Meals

My own experience with food inequality in the form of food photos and humor in the gaudy presentation of cheap foods. Focusing on meals like uncooked ramen noodles, canned beans with hotdogs, and plain butter noodles, I bring to light what it was like for me to grow up in a household where government food assistance was not available to my single mother who couldn’t afford groceries for her three children. This situation is not at all unique to my family; in 2019, 4.1% of families in the U.S., or 5.3 million households, had very low food security while 10.5% of families had some food insecurity throughout the year. Many low-income families must get creative with low-cost foods, and there are many variations of the recipes presented in my book based on culture and locally available foods. However, this project is a representation of my specific experience.