Food, Social Class, and Everyday Community life in the DMV

Food, Social Class, and Everyday Community life in the DMV

The German Gourmet restaurant where I conducted my research is based in Arlington, VA. Most people live in Silver Spring Maryland, MD of ZIP code of 20903. The high-income density community stays in Vienna, Virginia, VA, of ZIP code 22182. In Arlington, VA, there is also a community of Foreign-born people. The foreign-born people live in Silver Spring, Maryland, MD (Childs 1987). The population in Arlington is comprised of people from diverse ethnic groups with their settlements that leads to increased housing development. The number of people living below the poverty level in this neighborhood is significantly low. Thus, we can say that there is an excellent economic development in this community (Smith 2014). Notwithstanding the ethnic differences, the dominant language in this community is English; therefore, there is ease of communication.

During my site visit, I discovered some interesting findings that would typically not be found in any other local grocery store serving a higher percentage of native-born citizens. In the German grocery store, I concluded that culture, identity, class, and ideology play a crucial role in shaping people’s preferences. I noticed that the store sells a significantly diverse range of goods compared to the ones found at my local grocery store. Contrary to what I am used to, the vegetables and fruits section in the store could not be said to be fresh because they appeared dull. Similarly, the meat and fish sections were also dull in appearance.

Furthermore, the range of fruits, vegetables, and meat available was significantly lower than the typical American grocery store. An example is that there were no cucumbers, and there were only about six apples available. Likewise, there were no salad bars, and this was mainly because of the low availability of fruits and vegetables in the stores. Generally, an American would conclude that the quality of goods in this area was dismal and unreliable. I later attributed this to the culture and found that the German culture does not see the value of fruits and vegetables, and meat products the way Americans do.

Unlike the fruits and vegetable section, the pastries and baked goods section was the most vibrant part of the store. It comprised of a diverse range of baked goods such as crackers, tarts, pies, brownies, and biscuits, among others. The pastries and baked foods section was the most significant part of the store. Such findings were a confirmation that German stores have low-quality meat and fresh produce, and this was as a result of their previous culture that mainly supported feeding, especially on calories for survival instead of for enjoyment. I also noted that a majority of people visited this section and filled their shopping carts with a significant number of products from this section. Contrary, the fruits and vegetable section was almost empty. Therefore, I wondered why the store manager did not restock the fruits and vegetable section.

Once I finished comparing the fruits and vegetable section with the pastries and baked goods section, I noted that below the fruits and vegetable section, there were no product promotions. However, below the pastries and baked foods section had more than ten promotions with over attendants. It seemed as though the attendants were more of advisors to the clients because the customers appeared to be more interested in the displayed products compared to the fresh fruits and vegetable section, which had only one attendant. The attendant at the fruits and vegetables section seemed to be idle because there were few customers in this section. In this store, the products in the fruits and vegetable section, and the products in the pastries and baked foods section, were put in categories and arranged according to their price tags from the least costly to the most expensive, similar to any other grocery store. Therefore, the customers are classified based on class.

To get a better and fuller understanding of my study community, I would have also studied the types of schools in the city. I would have considered and compared the private schools and public schools in these areas, compared their facilities and the type of students in the different schools. I would have gotten more valuable data by comparing the academic resources, infrastructures, and facilities provided in various schools and the background of the students found in these schools. This would have helped me to see whether there is equality in education regardless of race, class, or social status. I would be able to see how poverty affects learning in this community and whether the schools practice social class, ethnic, and race bias in the provision of education.