Assignment 3: Research
If you don’t know what celiac disease is or what gluten is, I suggest you read this blog post I wrote before you continue with this one.
Ask
To prepare for my interviews, I came up with a list of open ended, non-leading questions. I came across a gentleman by the name of Steinar Kvale, a professor of educational psychology. He describes 9 different types of question that may be used in an interview. I started all of my interviews out with the same questions based off of these 9 types of questions and as the conversation progressed, we moved to more pertinent topics.
- What is your favorite snacking experience?
- What is your favorite thing to eat as a snack?
- When do you eat snacks?
- What do you think about the commercial food market and gluten free?
- What is the one thing you miss about your childhood snacking experience?
- When purchasing snacks what is most important to you; price, portability, or health.
Interview 1: Connor | 13 | Middle School Student
Connor is my friend Megan’s younger brother. Connor was a good person to interview because he was the youngest person I talked to who had Celiac. Since he is in middle school, there are times his classes allow for students to eat a snack.
The main reason Connor liked certain gluten free foods was because it was nostalgic. He liked a specific brand of gluten free brownies because it reminded him of a time where he didn’t have to worry about what he was eating. He mentioned how he was constantly reminded how he was different because of his disease saying “I’ve been denied service before because of Celiac.” As a typical teenage boy, Connor was focused on eating all of his favorite foods but couldn’t because there weren’t a lot of great gluten free options. He said he “will try many different brands until [he] finds the one that tastes the best” since there isn’t really a no-fail gluten free brand on the market.
Interview 2: Maggie | 18 | College Student
Maggie is my friend Katharine’s friend. She has Celiac Disease and was diagnosed at 16. I decided to interview Maggie because she was diagnosed at 16 and has experienced a huge shift in her lifestyle and interpersonal relationships.
Maggie and I talked about how after her diagnosis, she felt alienated from her friends and family. She mentioned that her family all ate gluten foods but she “had her own box of her special food.” Maggie pointed out that “you realize how communal eating is when you can’t partake in it.” For me this struck a chord because it really put into words what it means to be excluded from one of the most important things in our everyday lives. She described how it can be annoying to have to explain to people what being gluten free means and why it’s important. People often assume she is gluten free because she wants to “try the latest food trend.”
Interview 3: Carleigh | 16 | High School Student
Carleigh is a friend of my sister who also has Celiac Disease. She was diagnosed at age 6 and is also allergic to several fruits, nuts, and dairy. I decided to interview Carleigh because she experienced a strict diet from an early age.
We discussed how her many allergies and diseases affected her snacking experience. She said “I just eat snacks because I have to” alluding to the fact that she will either faint or throw up if she doesn’t eat certain items at certain times. It was interesting that Carleigh didn’t seem to care about the additional health benefits of certain snacks because her “allergies and diseases make [me] eat pretty healthy to begin with.” Her biggest frustration was having to always think about what she’s eating and if she is allergic to it or not.
Observation
I decided to observe a group study event for this portion of the blog post. Cookies were the only snack provided at this event. Initially I noticed that all of the guys gravitated towards the back and sat together in a clump. The girls were more spread out and likely to talk to each other. The girls would each go up and grab a cookie whereas the guys would usually pin it on one to grab cookies for everyone. My friend Ashley has a gluten intolerance and couldn’t actually participate in the cookie eating process. She later said it made her feel really awkward and excluded from the bonding activities since everyone else was eating the cookies and she had to explain why she couldn’t.
Experience
When my sister, Natalie, visited me Wednesday, we decided to go out to lunch. An important thing to note is that Natalie has Celiac Disease. Initially going out to lunch was an exciting thing, but we quickly realized that few restaurants on campus had a gluten free menu. In addition, we couldn’t go to places like Chipotle due to all of the contamination issues. After walking around campus for a while, we went to Five Guys and found out they do a really good job of providing a gluten free meal. Their buns are toasted on a separate grill and the fries have their own fryers.
Even though we were able to have gluten free food, we went up to the counter several times to ask for clarification on their food preparation process. This experience isn’t new to me but it did remind me how big of a deal eating gluten free can be. It was inconvenient, awkward, and unfortunate to have to go through every single time my sister wants to go out to eat.
Storyboard
I took my experience with my sister Natalie and decided to make my storyboard about our lunch date.
Major Insights
- Eating is a very communal experience (Interview with Maggie)
- Eating in public can be very difficult if you have allergies (Experience with Natalie)
- Portability is key when you have to bring your own food for every event (Interview with Carleigh)
- When you are gluten free, taste is more important than health (Interview with Maggie)
- Snacking is important when you need to gain nutrients (Interview with Carleigh)
- The commercial food industry has made a lot of progress with their allergy conscious products and labels (Interview with Connor, Maggie, and Carleigh)
- People confuse Celiac Disease with a trend or fad |Interview with Carleigh
- People with allergies just want to feel normal (Interview with Connor, Maggie, and Carleigh)
- Being gluten free encourages a healthier lifestyle (Interview with Carleigh)
- It is hard to trust new products when little information about the quality of the product is known (Interview with Connor)
Problem Statements
- Connor needs a way to remember the past in a safe way because he misses the foods he remembers from his childhood.
- Maggie needs a way to feel connected with her peers because being gluten free can really alienate an individual.
- Carleigh needs a way to make snacking more exciting because she currently can’t explore many snacking options.
