Comfort Foods: The Roles Food Plays in Our Lives

The notion of comfort foods is a popular idea, as it yields many positive mood benefits, from relationship bonding to the alleviation of sadness and loneliness. However, when continuously consumed for the sake of counteracting negative emotions, detrimental effects can impact an individual's physical and emotional health. Physical detriments include obesity, unhealthy levels of sugars, sodium, and bad cholesterol, as well as increased blood pressure. Emotional detriments include low emotional stability through misuse of comfort foods as an emotional crutch. Research has found that patterns of comfort food consumption are seen between different groups. Cultural differences also exist. Variance continues to be seen in how individuals derive their comfort effect. Comfort can be derived from nostalgic, indulgent, convenience based, or physical means. The prevalent use of comfort foods across a varied spectrum of derivation is a testament to the importance of its discussion. Our community service project aims to educate the public on the ideas surrounding comfort foods, including the benefits and detriments. A comfort food themed art gallery was created consisting of pieces of different media, and is meant to generate interest in learning by framing comfort food related knowledge in the form of art as entertainment. Additionally, our project serves the community of involved artists by providing additional notoriety through accreditation, and by providing the ability to collaborate with new contacts of various artistic mediums. We received 17 submissions from October 10, 2011 to November 10, 2011. Approximately 13 additional submissions are expected. Art forms include music, poetry, and visual art from more than 14 individuals who ranged ethnically from Korean, Japanese, African American, Italian, Filipino, and Egyptian. A total of more than 27 individuals expressed interest in participation. The project was designed to uplift the audiences through various arts and the appreciation of art. This provision of derived comfort is perhaps one of the greater forms of community service. (JM)