What's more human than our relationship with food?
We all have a story about food that goes as far back as childhood or as recent as several months ago.
Image: This is a picture of me with my dad. I believe this was my first birthday cake.
Do you have a story about food and yourself or identity?
Is there a food or food item that you love OR can't stand? Is there a recent or long-ago memory of trying something that changed your relationship to that particular dish? Or maybe you have a story of encountering a food or food item that brought you closer to understanding yourself or something about your friends, family, or community? Click here to share!
Do you have a story about food that brings together heritage, class, race, and other parts of your personal history?
Maybe you have a memory about a specific food or dishes you ate or prepared and how food relates to your sense of culture, race and/or class. Or you might have a memory about how you or others used a food term was used as a description for your racial or cultural heritage. Or perhaps you have a story about a family recipe passed down through your family or shared among your friend group. Click here to share!
What kinds of stories are you collecting?
Whether your story is serious, witty, quirky, funny, or something else altogether, we are collecting ALL foodstories with no judgement.
How long can the story be?
You can submit a story that is a flash piece (6 words to 2 sentences to 65 words in length) OR you can submit something a bit longer between 300 - 500 words in length. We also are collecting audio stories as well and just ask that you submit clean and clear audio recorded in a quiet place. If you wish to share an audio piece,
5 - 7 minutes would be ideal.
How will my story be shared?
The information shared from these stories (again, individuals can choose to remain anonymous) will be featured in a multi-media display. This multi-media will consist of either a short film featured on a screen and/or audio paired with an original soundscape designed by another artist. If you wish to share an audio recording of your story, you can let us know when you submit your story. Additionally, an archive of the foodstories collected will live on this site and SoundCloud for individuals to re-visit.
Meet Our Project Partners
This is the list of all of the organizations lending their support of the project through collaboration and helping to get the word out. Foodstories has funding support from the Manchester Arts Commission for all Manchester-related Foodstories activities. Formal partnerships include:
New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts (NHBCA)
New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility (NHBSR)
Queerlective
Want to join the partnership? Click here to find out how!
Overview
The purpose of foodstories is to explore the idea that food can be a bridge to who we are as individuals and as a human collective while also creating community. Our relationship to food intersects with our sense of identity, culture, class, religion, and other aspects of our
human identity.
Project Goals
*Engage community members through partnerships with schools, institutions, and community organizations, focusing on gathering stories connected to aspects of food, memory, and identity.
*Inspire personal reflection and dialogue about the role food has played across our life spans within different parts of our lives.
*Create an artifact that will be shown in a public exhibition that brings together food, memory, and identity. This exhibition will include other artists and will feature the collected foodstories.
Approach
Different approaches will be used to gather stories to ensure accessibility. Due to the range of potential stories — as food memories may be rooted in the celebratory or tied to trauma — individuals can choose to remain anonymous. Story collection will take place via:
*Story submissions at various physical locations (libraries, cafes, schools, bookstores, etc.)
*Community events
*Online story submission
We all have a food story. For some, these stories are rooted in celebration connected to memories that we hold dear and continue to revisit or share with others. For others, the door that links food to memory and identity is not to be opened or revisited due to the sadness, shame, and other trauma associated with it.
When sharing your story, you can choose to remain anonymous.
Want to share your food story or memory?
Click Here to share a story about food and self/identity
Click here to share a story about food, race and class