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Research Note 
 

Discomforting Foodways: Reflections on The Challenges Faced by Individuals During the 
COVID-19 Pandemic 
By: Jerry L. Reed III 
  

Abstract 
While serving as the Assistant Project Director for The Center for Food and Culture’s 
oral history project, Comfort/Discomfort Through Foodways, Jerry Reed became 
particularly interested in the general concept of foods of discomfort, be it through 
dietary restrictions or the lack of comforting contexts around food. Using data 
collected during the project, he reflects on the nature of discomfort food, and how it 
was understood and challenged by respondents to the project. Interestingly, 
participants of this project found these discomforts easily overcome. This article 
explores the implications of this finding. 
 
Keywords: folklore, food, comfort food, oral history, COVID-19 

 
Introduction 
Since the beginning of the pandemic, scholars have jumped at the opportunity to research 
and reflect on the many ways that COVID-19 has impacted more than just our daily lives, 
but also our psychological well-being and even our fundamental beliefs about the world. 
Food, the ever-centric part of culture that it is, was highly impacted in so many different 
ways: obtaining food safely and during various shortages; being able to eat food with 
others; and a turn to comfort food as seen on social media and other platforms are a small 
sample of the observed impacts. The concept of comfort food here refers to foods that are 
“Typically linked with home, tradition, nostalgia, and positive feelings” (Jones and Long 
2017: 3), a particularly American idea that stems from psychology around stress and 
health, linking together unhealthy foods, guilt, and stress relief. However, there is folk 
knowledge in many cultures that promotes food in general as good for comfort and overall 
mental health, as is illustrated by one Center for Food and Culture (CFAC) interview “…my 
grandmother was an immigrant from the Azorean islands… her favorite saying was coma, 
coma, teu mal é a fome which is eat, eat, your problem is hunger, which you know, you’ll 
hear that from Jewish families to Italian families” (Sue E., CFAC-JR-SE-6/25/20). Striking a 
balance between finding foods of comfort and foods of necessity, while avoiding the 
dangers of COVID-19 along with other pre-pandemic, food-based challenges an individual 
might encounter could clearly be a problem that others were facing.  
 
Food is not always the comfort it is made out to be either, as much of the previous research 
on comfort food often explores. Jones and Long (2017) make note of the relationship 
between the fatty, carb and sugar heavy comfort foods often found in the Western world 
and rising obesity levels (4), and Tucker (2017) finds many stories and connections within 
Indonesian foodways that exemplify how even traditional comfort foods can be filled with 
backgrounds of discomfort, exclusion, and identity divides within the culture: 

 



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Simple peasant food, then, evokes a familiar split and an ambivalence in Indonesian 
identity; indicating poverty and backwardness in a fast-growing and forward-
looking country on its way to ever-greater affluence and economic relevance in 
Southeast Asia and the world on the one hand, and a cherished past of agrarian 
values on the other, where there is nothing fancy to be found, but nothing 
unhealthful either, in honest, locally sourced nourishment. (222) 

 
While working as the Assistant Program Director for Comfort/Discomfort Through 
Foodways, an oral history project undertaken by The Center for Food and Culture (Long et 
al. 2021), I became particularly intrigued with this concept of food causing discomfort 
rather than comfort while preparing to conduct our interviews. As someone with only a 
minor food-based immune issue (lactose intolerance), I had become curious about how 
others with more severe issues were handling food access during the pandemic, especially 
amidst the numerous reported shortages and the tales of insufficient food substitutions 
from grocery delivery services. The data produced by the project varied greatly between 
individuals, eliciting reflections on food challenges due to dietary needs and the nature of 
discomfort food. In this piece I propose a definition of discomfort food and then reflect on 
my experiences interviewing and collecting data for this project. The resulting findings 
illustrate some of the challenges a small number of individuals faced, and suggest further 
research questions.  
 
Discomfort Food 
Before exploring the data produced by the CFAC’s project, I would like to reflect on the 
nature of discomfort food, as it was this concept that first led me to start thinking about the 
challenges of food allergies and dietary restrictions. Working backwards from the concept 
of comfort food set by Jones & Long (2017), foods that evoke positive feelings often of 
nostalgia or relief from emotional or psychological stress, we can look at the positive 
feelings and associations of comfort food and easily propose that discomfort food is just 
food that makes the individual feel bad or is food associated with a negative context. We 
know, however, that food is even more complex than just the act of eating and either 
enjoying it or not.  
 
While tastes towards certain cuisines, textures, and even appearances vary from one 
individual to another, distastes can lead to a variety of physical reactions. Food is more 
than the act of eating. Consuming food is a social event for many people, and how people 
interact with others around food often produces the same comforting feelings without 
really being about the food itself. For example, children in the school lunchroom have 
unique social interactions because they choose to exchange food with their peers as a pro-
social interaction (Reed 2020). In the same cafeteria, minority students may find comfort 
and community by sitting and eating their individual lunches with peers from similar 
backgrounds (Clack, Dixon and Tredoux 2005; Tatum 1997). Considering this pro-social 
aspect of food, the community and belonging that commensality can provide, discomfort 
food then may lack positive interactions entirely, or perhaps contain anti-social aspects. 
 
COVID-19 produced several new contexts that affected the ways in which situations around 
food could elicit discomfort. Some participants in this study were unable to access common 



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comfort foods due to shortages, some had worries about obtaining food that fit in with 
dietary restrictions, and others found discomfort in the new contexts of eating separately 
from others. As one respondent mentioned in a CFAC interview, “I don’t think I’m in the 
minority when it comes to saying the concept of sharing meals with friends or other 
intimates over video chat is both alien and maybe partially unsatisfying. But I’d say I am in 
the minority when I would say it’s so unsatisfying to me, the concept, that I don’t even want 
to try.” (Brady D., CFAC-JB-BD-6/8/20). Illustrated here is one of the forms of socializing 
that was popularized at the start of the pandemic in 2020—eating with friends and loved 
ones over a video call—a concept that was very alien to many folks at the time and was 
initially off-putting as well. Virtual socializing was just one way COVID-19 changed food 
contexts: delivery services, food shortages via supply chain and hoarding, and a valid 
concern for health safety in obtaining food all played a part in the interaction between the 
consumer and their food.  
 
Reflection on CFAC Data 
Even before COVID-19, folks with dietary restrictions were fully aware that the entirety of 
the comfort food category was not for them: 

I have a number of medical conditions, chronic medical conditions that restrict the 
way, the kinds of food I have to choose to eat. I really have to eat to live as opposed 
to live to eat, so, you know, whereas I think for some folks, you know macaroni and 
cheese is like a wonderful comfort food, and for me it would kill me, so I can't touch 
that. (Jan R., CFAC-JR-JR-6/24/20) 

 
With this awareness and acceptance, the concern of how someone with such dietary 
restrictions would be able to get the foods that they can safely eat during a time of scarcity 
would be understandable. Worth noting here is that throughout the CFAC interview 
materials, even with many folks noting substantial scarcity in stores, no one had mentioned 
dietary concerns due to availability of foods. Even the folks with the most restrictive diets 
were able to continue finding foods that they were able to consume. One way to deal with 
scarcity of suitable foods was explained by one respondent: “My son and his family live 
upstairs, I’m in the mother -in-law suite, and so what I did find what is handy is since the 
quarantine started, we ended up borrowing or asking for food items for my son and vice-
versa, if I was short on eggs or milk.” (Gloria E., CFAC-JR-GE-7/21/20). Early shopping time 
restricted to people over the age of 60, gardening, preservation, and food delivery all 
helped sustain those with dietary restrictions and other health concerns during the COVID-
19 pandemic. In larger cities, some respondents were able to find foods that were in short 
supply in larger stores, such as flour, in their smaller neighborhood markets. 
 
General health concerns were seen throughout the CFAC interviews, and steps to mitigate 
them were mentioned. “I’ve been trying to eat immunity-boosting foods just to help my 
family stay healthier, but also mixed in with, you know, stuff that we normally eat.” (Clara 
P., CFAC-JB-CP-7/6/20). Sometimes respondents were not as focused on eating healthy 
foods but felt guilty about their choices, “I’m very conscious of that I am not eating as many 
vegetables as I should, and I feel really badly about it. So, I’ll make a salad for dinner. I 
haven’t had greens for, gee, two or three days, that’s horrible, so I’ll make a big salad and 
then go a couple days without salad again…” (Yvonne L., CFAC-JR-YL-8-13-20). 



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The general discomfort around food all centered on the same themes in our interviews: 
socializing and interpersonal connections. Food is far more than just what we eat. Food 
serves as an expression of our identities, both personal and social, and it works to bind 
groups together (Belasco 2008). While some were averse to trying to socialize over long 
distance video calls with friends and families, others found it to be a welcome experience: 

 
I'm Jewish and there's a Jewish holiday in the spring where you’re supposed to eat 
[blintzes]… [her sister’s] daughter had been bugging me for a long time for the 
recipe, but to explain how to make the crêpe thing is a little hard… now this 
invention of Zoom, like why didn’t we think of Facetime or Zoom before, I don’t 
know, but I gave her a cooking lesson… and then she and I made blintzes together, it 
was so much fun. (Hanna G S., CFAC-JR-HGS-7-8-20). 

 
Other anxieties and discomforts around food focused on procurement, but also swiftly 
abated. “…I haven’t set foot in a store since March 14th, but we have an enormous amount of 
curbside availability… we have curbside food. We have curbside liquor. We have curbside 
home store, like, you know, home repair type stuff” (Emily S., CFAC-JR-ES-6-30-20).  
 
Looking Forward 
Based on the data collected during the CFAC’s interviews, many of the discomforts 
potentially caused by COVID-19 around food were easily overcome by participants. Those 
at higher risk found safer, alternative ways to obtain their foods, while those with dietary 
restrictions were still able to continue to find suitable nutrition with ease despite some 
food scarcities due to panic hoarding. Data within the CFAC is limited, and wider 
ethnographies and surveys are needed to fully understand the larger impacts that COVID-
19 has had on specific cultural groups’ experiences around food. Additionally, with some 
exceptions, the data collected was American-centric, and thus a look beyond the US borders 
is needed in order to get a more global perspective.  
 
It is difficult to conclude from this limited data whether the experiencing and addressing 
food discomforts is tied to the identities of the participants. The assumption would be that 
economic class would be a factor in procuring food, since having more money would give 
more choices to participants and enable them to find ways around potential obstacles. This 
is seemingly the case within the data collected in relation to the areas in which the 
participants lived. Even the interviewers with limited access to a store with fresh produce 
were able to afford both travel to stores at a further distance and growing a garden on their 
property.  
 
Community building over food during the pandemic is worth a much deeper and explicit 
study. Interviews in the project indicate how people have used telecommunication 
technology like Zoom or Skype to socialize or continue food traditions (see: Hanna G S., 
CFAC-JR-HGS-7-8-20), with both success and enjoyment but also discomfort and perhaps 
even disillusionment (see: Brady D., CFAC-JB-BD-6/8/20). Socialization around food has 
deep impacts on community and belonging, changes around the nature of eating together 
with others could be greatly impacting community bonds. Looking at how children 



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socialize during their school lunchtimes shows the importance of shared mealtimes for 
their social development (Reed 2020). For those concerned about how children have been 
affected by the pandemic, this is going to be a topic that needs to be explored. Many diverse 
studies are going to be needed to fully understand the cultural impact of the COVID-19 
pandemic today and its repercussions for the future. This merely illustrates the need for 
these studies to continue to better understand the full picture of these challenges. 
   



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Works Cited 
Belasco, Warren. 2008. Food: The key concepts. London, UK: Bloomsbury Academic. 
 
Clack, Beverly, John Dixon, and Colin Tredoux. 2005. Eating together apart: Patterns of 
segregation in a multi-ethnic cafeteria. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology 
15(1): 1-16. 
 
Jones, Michael O. and Lucy M. Long. 2017. Comfort Food: Meanings and Memories. Jackson, 
MS: University Press of Mississippi. 
 
Long, Lucy L., Jerry Lee Reed, III, John Broadwell, Quinlan Day Odum, Hannah M. Santino, 
and Minglei Zhang. 2021. Finding Comfort and Discomfort Through Foodways Practices 
During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Public Folklore Project. Digest: A Journal of Foodways 
and Culture 8(1) 5-25. 
 
Reed, III, Jerry L. 2020. You Are What Others Eat: Informal Economics and Social Hierarchy 
in Middle Schools. Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University. OhioLINK Electronic 
Theses and Dissertations Center. 
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1587302015966842 
 
Tatum, Beverly. 1997. Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And 
Other Conversations About Race. New York, NY: Basic Books. 
 
Tucker, Annie. 2017. Haunted Tongues and Hollow Comforts: Examples of Culinary 
Conscience in 100Indonesian Fiction. In Comfort Food: Meanings and Memories, ed. Michael 
O. Jones and Lucy M. Long, 212-229. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi.  
 
Interviews 
Brady D. 2020. Interview with John Broadwell (Center for Food and Culture). June 8. 
(Brady D., CFAC-JB-BD-6/8/20) 
 
Clara P. 2020. Interview with John Broadwell (Center for Food and Culture.) July 6. (Clara 
P., CFAC-JB-CP-7/6/20) 
 
Emily S. 2020. Interview with Jerry Reed (Center for Food and Culture) June 30. (Emily S., 
CFAC-JR-ES-6-30-20) 
 
Gloria E. 2020. Interview with Jerry Reed (Center for Food and Culture.) July 21. (Gloria E., 
CFAC-JR-GE-7/21/20) 
 
Hanna G S. 2020. Interview with Jerry Reed (Center for Food and Culture.) July 8.  (Hanna G 
S., CFAC-JR-HGS-7-8-20) 
 
Jan R. 2020. Interview with Jerry Reed (Center for Food and Culture). June 24. (Jan R., 
CFAC-JR-JR-6/24/20) 
 

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1587302015966842


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Sue E. 2020. Interview with Jerry Reed (Center for Food and Culture). June 25. (Sue E., 
CFAC-JR-SE-6/25/20) 
 
Yvonne L. 2020. Interview with Jerry Reed (Center for Food and Culture). August 13. 
(Yvonne L., CFAC-JR-YL-8-13-20) 


