Third Culture Kids (TCK) are people raised in a culture other than their parents' or the culture of the country named on their passport for a significant part of their early developmental years. They frequently build relationships with all of the cultures, while not having full ownership in any. Although elements from each culture may be assimilated into the TCK's life experience, the sense of belonging is often in relation to others of a similar background. This lack of ownership is also what gives them the sense of simultaneously belonging "everywhere and nowhere". They move back and forth from one culture to another before they have completed the critical developmental tasks of forming a sense of their own personal, cultural, or national identity. Third Culture Kids are often exposed to a greater variety of cultural influences. Food, like language, exists as a vehicle for expressing culture. It has the power of being both a biological necessity and a deeply symbolic cultural artifact, one that connects us to one another on several levels. It is a mechanism for expressing identity that also has a social purpose.
