Read from 'Taste Our Lives'

Here is a sample of the students' zine, Taste Our Lives, created using Photovoice technique (see previous post). Enjoy!

Introduction

You are about take a little trip into our lives. We hope that you will see the different points of view from each of the authors’ experiences. As you read our “Zine,” you will see that many of our lives are connected. In our stories, we interviewed one person in our family and took photographs of what they cooked for us. First, we asked questions about the food and then we asked about the food’s history in our family. After reading our “Zine,” we hope you will have a greater appreciation of our food and our culture.

—7th Grade Peer Resources,
Luther Burbank Middle School
San Francisco, CA
June 2006

My Dad’s Making Chicken!

My dad is in the kitchen cutting something.
I asked him, “What are you making?”
He said, “Chicken, why?”
I said, “Because I am doing a project in class. Can you help me with it?”
My dad said, “Sure!”
Then I asked him, “Do you like to make it?”
He said, “Yes, I love to make it!” So, I watched him make it and put the chicken in the grease to be fried.
I asked my dad, “Who did you get the recipe from?”
He said, “I got it from my mom and my mom got it from her mom.”
Then I asked him, “Does it have a meaning?”
He said, “The meaning is showing how our family cooks. We all cook the same way and we all share the same recipe. That’s why our family are good cooks!” This was a fun way to talk to my dad about food because I don’t really talk to him about that. I had fun and I think he had fun, too.

photovoice
youth nutrition
family food

'Taste Our Lives' Zine & Party

At Burbank, Ms. Boggess' 7th grade Peer Resource group celebrated a very exciting project. With this class, we used Photovoice, a technique in which participants take photographs of their communities and use them to stimulate dialogue and a process of social change. The students created a zine called Taste Our Lives to present their work.

First, Burbank students took pictures of foods they eat in order to analyze their nutrition habits. In our first round of pictures, many took pictures of bags of hot chips from the store, or sodas from fast food restaurants. In the second round of pictures, they chose to focus on cultural or family foods, and why those "real" foods, made from whole ingredients and family recipes, are important to them. Students interviewed family members as they photographed what took place in the kitchen. At each step of the project, students took pictures, discussed them, wrote about them, and made sense of them.

Early in the project, the class did nutrition education activities, like the time we tested sugar content of different drinks. These same students are expert gardeners, who have cared for the garden since 6th grade.

As the students turned their photos and interviews into Photovoice essays, they decided to create a zine and invite the people they interviewed to celebrate, cook and eat all together. Tuesday night was the big event! Several "stars" of the zine arrived to celebrate with us. We harvested in the garden together, cooked delicious stir fry, enjoyed a relaxing meal, and made smoothies for dessert! Check back in a few days to see some Photovoice stories from the zine.


school garden
Photovoice
youth nutrition
cultural food
family recipe