Market Habits & Food

Most people go food shopping everyday. Vegetables do not stay fresh for days on end without insect infestation. If a family wants meat for meal, it has to be purchased that day. Most families do not have the ability to preserve meat via refrigeration. It is a fairly new concept among families who can afford it.

Shopping is not only a necessary activity but also a social interaction. Virtually every transaction in the traditional market system requires that you talk with and to the vendor that you are purchasing from. Most people exhibit some vendor loyalty so that a relationship is formed with the vendor. Also, there are others out shopping in the market so interactions with friends and neighbors occur there.

Another contributing factor to the market seems to be that people generally work on a day by day basis. If a person only makes enough money to live day-to-day, then it makes sense that they cannot stockpile food. Once a person makes his/her wages for the day then it is possible to buy dinner and breakfast for the next morning.

It seems that income affects more than where you live and what you eat. It also affects how you eat. The rhythm of working, shopping, cooking and eating are all interconnected. Work leads to money that allows a person to shop for groceries then cook and eat them. Without working on any given day, some families are left without food to eat that night. Even if they do not go completely hungry, the amount of food available is significantly reduced.

Cooking is another part in this cycle. It is a time consuming process that is absolutely necessary. Eating out is expensive and for most families the cost of eating out one meal can feed them for several days. It in theory could be one person’s job to cook for a family. It could be an all day task.

The socioeconomic status I come from allows my family and me the luxury of shopping for a weeks worth of food at one time. We can buy meat and vegetables as well as other goods and preserve them for almost time indefinite. The concept of only having enough money for one meal at a time is something that I cannot even begin to conceptualize. I know that eating out at home and in Tanzania is expensive but I can still afford to eat out and still have money for meals the next day.

Food and cooking is a life necessity. The entire system here has challenged my concepts about the way I cook and eat and the way other people do those activities. It is a cornerstone to culture since eating is a necessary life sustaining activity. Food from region to region varies obviously as what is available in the region due to agricultural and climate conditions dictate. Regardless, people eat...when they have money. It may not be convenient or cheap but food is available. Tanzania doesn’t have food shortage from what I can see. The shortage is the funds for people to purchase food.