“...Coco Puffs for Dinner?”: Exploring Factors Influencing Meal Patterns, Food Choices, and Solo Dining Experiences of International Students in Dublin through Photovoice and Photo Elicitation

Moving abroad to study is, for many international students, a moment of crisis. Established routines are broken, familiar foodways are left behind, and the daily challenges of cultural adaptation, social isolation along with limited resources affect their food choices. Studies have shed light on the effects of cultural adaptation on foodways among international students (Sergile 2023). While some focus on solo dining experiences, this study focuses on factors that influence meal patterns, food choices, and solo dining experiences in international students in Dublin. Using a blend of two visual qualitative methods; photovoice and photo elicitation interviews, the study engaged with 10 international students from non-EU countries who documented their meals over a seven-day period. Selected 4 participants were interviewed using collected photos as datapoints providing deeper insights of their experiences. The findings reveal that time constraints, cultural adaptation, emotional well-being, and social environments significantly influence eating behaviours. Students often preferred easy-to-prepare meals and experienced a strong emotional connection towards traditional foods from their home countries. Solo dining emerged primarily as a necessity rather than a preference, with many participants expressing a desire for social interaction around meals. Themes such as homesickness, independence, and the challenges of navigating unfamiliar food environments were prominent throughout the data. This research contributes to the understanding of how food choices, meal patterns and solo dining experiences evolve in response to cultural adaptation, and student lifestyle. Considering aspects like emotion and daily survival strategies. It also stresses the importance of considering social and emotional support structures in student wellbeing initiatives. Food here becomes more than sustenance. It is a source of hope offering comfort, identity and resilience amid the crisis of migration and cultural adaptation.