Activity: Talk with an Elder, Learn About Your Food
Everyone has a story about food. We all remember something we ate, something we grew or a meal that someone prepared for us. Foods, life fashion, follow trends and come in and out of style. Each generation puts their own unique touch on how and what we eat. Once, those trends and our menus were determined largely by the availability of ingredients and the presence of the appliances needed to store and prepare them. Now, thanks to advances in refrigeration and preservation, more fruits, vegetables and meats are available throughout the country regardless of the season. Today’s younger generations have likely been able to buy corn, peas, potatoes and strawberries in the middle of winter. Elders in our communities may remember a time that this wasn’t possible.
This activity encourages you or your child to spend time talking with a parent, grandparent or elder member of the community to learn more about how our relationships with food and the creation of our meals may have changed over time. The focus for this activity is to learn about changes in the way people prepared, ate or got their food in the past. It might help, but isn’t required, that you let the person know what questions you will ask in advance so they can think about it and grab photos or a recipe card to share.
Here are some example questions:
What were your favorite foods as a kid?
How were your favorite foods prepared? By whom?
Would you share a favorite family recipe with me?
Why is this your favorite recipe? What makes it special?
Where did your family get food when you were young?
Did you grow any foods yourself? What were they?
Where was the nearest grocery store? What was it like?
What is something about the way people eat today that has changed since you were a child?
Don’t forget to write down or illustrate what you hear and share with us what you have learned. We would love to see a family recipe or photograph and hear an interesting story that was shared with you. Make sure you have permission from the person you interview to share and then tag @FarmingfortheFutureFoundation in a post on Facebook or Instagram to tell us about your experience.
