Perfect Food World

Perfect Food World
Goal Challenge students to imagine a more healthy food system and how to make nutrition a central part of that system.
Time 20-25 minutes (not including processing)
Physical Contact None
Physical Challenges None
Number of Participants 5-25
Space Requirements None
Materials Needed Google Earth Printouts of Neighborhood, Create a bubble diagram of their neighborhood, Chalkboard
Preparation Need list of questions to facilitate imagining food system

Theory
The kids have not ever thought about an alternative to the food system in which they find themselves. Therefore, they cannot be ‘health conscious’ because they aren’t even conscious of the food options they have.
Qs: Where do you get food outside of school? Where do you get healthy foods outside of schools? Where do you get unhealthy foods outside of schools? Are you satisfied with the way food is given to you outside of school?

Instructions
1. Explain the activity of imagining a new way to get food (reinvent your food system). This perfect food world is a place where healthy foods are in every corner store and unhealthy foods are passed by without a second look. Where apples, bananas, and chard dominate, and sodas are left to sit alone forever. We need to create this Perfect Food World.
2. Pass out the printouts attached to the bubble diagrams.
3. Start pointing out where their food comes from on the google earth picture. Not anywhere close, how can we grow food closer to us?
4. Talk about where the food is sold.
5. Talk about what kinds of foods are sold in the cornerstores. Use personal testimonies to recreate the arrangements of the cornerstores. Where do they sell the healthy foods and where do they sell the unhealthy foods? Why is there more unhealthy food than healthy food? Or vice versa?
6. After creating the scenario of where food comes from, where food is sold, and where in the stores food is, ask if it could be any better.
7. Regardless of whether they say it could or couldn’t be any better, ask them why?
8. Reinvent the way food comes to the community. Ask questions relating to where else could food come from. How else could food be sold in the cornerstores? Why are processed foods so good to sell (long shelf life)? Explain what long shelf life means.
9. Have the kids act the conversation with store owners to move food from one place in the store to another.
10. Applaud the kids for acting and for imagining a new and better food world.

Processing Suggestions
1. Is the way we get our food perfect? What can we do to change the system to make it better? Who can we talk to? What are we gonna do to change the system?

Reflection: Where have all the farmers gone? We need more farmers markets in the area so that we can get fresh fruits and vegetables. Right? Or not do we need the processed foods?

Feedback
Ask the kids and teachers for suggestions for the next time I come in.