Sierra Interview 4: Tory Harwin

1. Basic background information:
1. What year/major/age are you?
1. Junior, 20, MCB
2. What ethnicity do you identify with?
1. Caucasian
3. What are your gender pronouns? How do you identify?
1. She, her
4. Which of the following best describes your CURRENT social class?

1. Middle Class
1. Where do you live/ what type of housing?
1. Delta Gamma Sorority
1. Describe the food situation where you live. I.e is food provided to you, do you cook for yourself, do you use a meal plan, etc.
1. Delta Gamma Sorority- Food is provided 3 times a day; limited space to cook your own food, if you have your own food it has to be ready made or microwaveable, no meals on weekends. Very early times for eating, for a college lifestyle if I eat at 5:30 then go to bed at midnight then I’m hungry,
2. Do you feel comfortable with the food situation you have? Why or why not?
1. Yes because there is food provided, but no because I can’t make anything myself, and also its mass produced so I don’t know how good the quality is and i don’t know exactly what they are putting in the dishes, even though i know they are doing their best.
3. What is most important to you when deciding what and when and where you are going to eat?
1. What- My level of hunger, and what activities I am going to do later, like if I am going to work out I don’t want a full meal.
2. When- When I’m hungry.
3. Where- Preferably a place where I know what’s in my food, which is not always the case here. Or at a restaurant that I trust and know is quality.
4. Do you feel that other people in your house and in the community respect your food choices?
1. Yes, I do.
5. Do you feel any cultural connection to the food you eat? Emotional?
1. Not here but when I’m home and we eat certain foods on holidays- I miss challah on shabbat, or matzah on passover.
6. How important is the price of the food in determining what you will eat?
1. Somewhat important.
7. How important is nutrition in determining what you eat?
1. Very important.
8. If you are able, could you define your food preferences? For ex. Vegan, paleo, raw, etc.
1. I was on a very restrictive diet where I was paleo and vegan to see if it would decrease symptoms for my rheumatoid arthritis, its been 4 months and I haven’t noticed a difference. It was very restrictive, and because of that I felt like I developed an unhealthy relationship with food. Being in this house and not being able to cook my own things, I became obsessed with food and worrying about where I would eat next, because DG didn’t offer me food. I didn’t feel physically better so I don’t need to be restrictive. It was not healthy for my relationship with food. I have always eaten healthy and worked out. But slowly gaining weight after the surgery I had last year has been hard, and I have struggled with this. I don’t have a healthy relationship with food. It is a control thing- sometimes I feel like when I study a lot and I still don’t do good on tests I have no control, so food is really the only thing that I can completely control. Here in America and at Cal, people talk about food as energy- it’s basically a chore, whereas in other countries it is an opportunity to get together with friends and family. It’s a social thing but it’s more about having to eat here. We often aren’t thinking about what they are eating. I have been on many diets for symptoms or for body image, so I just need to not restrict myself and just try to eat healthy.
9. Do you feel free to make your own food choices, or are external factors restricting you?
1. What I talked about before- we have the hot meal and the salad bar and microwave but I do feel restricted since I can’t cook for myself.
10. Would you change anything about the way you eat? If you could what would it be? Are you able to make this change?
1. I would eat slower, sometimes I would get really hungry and eat too much when I could finally eat something.
2. At home I was able to slow down, because I didn’t get to the point I was so hungry that I was famished. I enjoyed eating more, I was hungry but could control it and eat at a healthier pace.  
11. How much do you typically spend on food per day? Per week?
1. I go to the grocery store about once a week and spend about $40.
12. Do you follow nutritional recommendations provided by the government?
1. No. I eat healthy but don’t follow what they say.
13. Do you consider yourself a healthy eater?
1. Yes.
14. Who do you eat with?
1. At DG, I eat with whoever is at dinner, or I go out to eat with a friend.
15. What do you eat with your family?
1. My mom is always cooking and is a healthy cook, she makes a lot of signature dishes. If we go out together we usually go to sushi.