Different communities, different food significances

O’Donnell’s article “The Culture Politics of Eating in Shenzhen” offers us an idea that the socialist meals of Old Shenzheners carried the Shenzhen spirit during the old period while the food of newcomers reveals another different culture of the present-day Shenzhen. Old Shenzheners liked to eat together at an alfresco restaurant, which enhanced the relationship between each other by various conversations. A large amount of them were heroes contributing to the revolutionary development of Shenzhen; they shared the same target: benefit both society and individuals. So the sense of unity and the harmonious atmosphere among the old Shenzheners made up the Shenzhen spirit during the old times. Also, for different old Shenzheners, food could recall different experience and meanings. The story of Big Sister Liang was a representative instance. For the reason that there were no bathrooms in the fields when she was working, she chose to eat cornbread, which is dry, instead of urinating outside near the fields. Thereby, cornbread will always remind her of the memory of sacrificing her physical well-being for the country. The value of self-sacrifice was extremely respectable and played an important role in the revolution of Shenzhen. So the food of old Shenzheners, especially some food like cornbread, represent their patriotic emotion to the country. Different from that of old Shenzheners, food of new comers is just used to satisfy their bellies and tastes. Old Shenzheners were always thinking about benefiting all the Chinese while new comers mainly want to seek the economic opportunities Shenzhen offered. The changes of people’s targets, therefore, bring the transform of the role that food play in the communities.

“Breaking bread with a spread” written by Cate introduces a unique and creative food in a San Francisco county jail- “spread”. As the article said, making a spread is “crush everything together, throws it in one bag, a few cups of hot water and blam.” The procedure looks really strange but people in the jail like to make spread very much. After reading through the whole article, I find four main reasons why spread is popular in the jail. First, dinner time in the jail rigidly begins at 4 p.m., which is so early that inmates will feel hungry at the end of evening. Second, official meals in the jail are monotonous and monochromatic while spread could be more colorful and abundant. Third, inmate can make any kind of spread they want with their materials, that is, they do not have to listen to others’ arrangement and follow the eating schedule of the jail when making and eating spread. At this point, spread is not just food, but a represent of freedom for the inmates, which is worth cherishing. So the third reason for me is the most interesting and meaningful part of the article. Forth, making spread helps inmates fight to addiction, pay more attention to the meaningful things, which is truly effective to reform them. Moreover, spread reveals the status of inmates in that those inmates who have money to buy ingredients of spread in the commissary are being taken care of; their relatives or friends may send money to their accounts. And, surprisingly, some inmates will also make spread when they are outside the jail. But it is grounded and reasonable since spread is not only food but also a sense of hope for those inmates. They find great fun in making and eating spread, bringing a little color to their boring life and enjoying a little freedom in the jail.