Diner, Hasia R. Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration. Harvard University Press, 2003. 

Diner’s book offers a look into what relationships Italian, Irish, and Jewish immigrants had with food before and after migrating to America. The book chronicles what ways food impacted peoples lives and the connections it had to greater society within each of these ethnic groups. It highlights just how intrinsic food is to social movements and how impactful it can be to marginalized groups.

While each of the three groups of people have only two chapters each dedicated to them, they are comprehensive and offer a perspective that is not often seen when talking about early twentieth century migration. It is clear that the author has a deep understanding of Irish, Italian, and Jewish life both pre and post migration and this understanding shows up clearly in the writing. The book gave me a clearer understanding of how interconnected food is to social issues and how it can be an indicator of what is going on within groups of people.

While the book only offers up two chapters on Jewish food, they are both deeply informative. They cover how much pressure was put on Jewish women to keep a kosher household while under the yolk of poverty and antisemitism in Europe. Food was also a point of contention within Jewish communities, highlighting which families went without and which families had a surplus. In America this journey continues, the struggle to keep kosher growing ever stronger with a lack of food sources taking into consideration Jewish dietary restrictions. This book shows just how connected food is to the Jewish identity and how deeply it can shake Jewish communities when there are issues with food.