This thesis explores how food can serve as a powerful medium for cultural expression, community connection, and identity preservation among immigrant communities. Rooted in the African philosophy of Ubuntu, “I am because we are”, the project acknowledges that belonging is not only about being accepted, but about being valued in one’s cultural authenticity.

In many immigrant experiences, integration often comes with the unspoken expectation to assimilate, often at the cost of one’s identity. This project reimagines food as more than a source for sustenance but also as a reflection of culture and identity, and a common ground where stories, traditions, and people come together in meaningful exchange.

Through human-centered research, interviews, and cultural engagement, the project manifests in the design of a series of products presented at the point of a food truck. It becomes an avenue for sensory storytelling, designed experiences, and tools that invite people to connect across difference.

Ultimately, this thesis is a call to reframe the way we understand integration, not as a one-way process of assimilation, but as a two-way practice of mutual recognition.