Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Master's program

South Asian immigrants are one of the fastest-growing populations in Canada, yet little is known about how their everyday food experiences affect their mental health. This project will explore how food safety and food security together shape the mental health of recent South Asian immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area. By examining food security and food safety together rather than in isolation, this study addresses fragmented evidence and shows how overlapping food-related stressors can compound mental health risk for South Asian newcomers. Using a qualitative Photovoice design, I will invite about 16 to 20 adults who arrived in Canada within the last 10 years to take photographs over two weeks that capture moments related to buying, storing, preparing and eating food, as well as situations that cause stress or comfort. Participants will then take part in individual interviews where we will discuss their images and the stories behind them. Interview recordings and photographs will be analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis to identify key patterns in how food safety and food security are experienced as interconnected determinants of mental health. This research will generate detailed, lived-experience evidence on how structural conditions (such as housing, income and access to cultural foods) and everyday food practices influence stress, anxiety and overall well-being. Findings will be shared with community organizations, settlement services and public health practitioners through photo-based exhibits, summaries and academic publications. The study aims to inform more culturally relevant programs and policies that support food-related and mental health needs of South Asian newcomers in Canada.