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Abstract
In this paper, we look at the question of food
and migration in the context of both rural and urban
Vermont. In the case of the former, we focus on the
situation of foreign-born migrant farm workers on
dairy farms and orchards and their search for familiar
flavors and ingredients. We examine in particular the
food supply chains that bring desired foodstuffs to
workers on isolated farms and the paradox of desiring
and purchasing the tastes of Latin America and the
Caribbean while living and working in the midst of
apparent bounty. In the case of urban Vermont we
focus on newly resettled refugees from diverse regions
of Africa, Asia and Europe and examine the ways in
which newcomers have attempted to adapt new
ingredients to familiar recipes or recreated old dishes
to maintain a connection to a distant homeland. For
both rural and urban newcomers, we also examine
the possibilities of growing familiar and foreign crops
as well as learning local food preservation practices
on community and personal plots. The paper is based
primarily on qualitative research with several migrants
and newcomers relating their own experience with
the food and migration dynamic.