During the month of July, students in The AjA Project‘s food justice workshop at Crawford High School explored cultural relationships to food. Through photo exercises and discussions, students considered the things that make their families’ food traditions unique and important, as well as how those traditions have and have not changed since coming to America. Below are some images from the workshop.
“I think that Crawford has a community garden because they want us young people to learn how to eat healthy. Some of the food they serve in the cafeteria is not healthy but we have a garden that is available for us whenever we want. It is important for young people to learn how to grow their own food.”
-Rhema, 17, originally from Kenya
“I think it’s important for Crawford to have its own garden because they get the students healthier food for lunch and it gets students interested in learning about gardening and its fun to work in the garden too. Yes, its important for young people to learn about gardening because it keeps them active and out of trouble. Also it teaches them to grown their own healthy food.”
-Asnina, 15, originally from Kenya
“I think Crawford has a community garden because most people don’t grow food. I think they make community gardens so they see what is the healthy food.”
-Tember, 15, originally from Thailand
“The food come from the store. Sometimes I go to the Farmer’s Market. I usually go to Asian Super Market. I think they buy vegetables from the farmers too. That’s why vegetables are so expensive. Sometimes my mom goes to her friend’s garden and she buys a lot of vegetables to eat.”
-Than Than, 18, originally from Thailand
“In my country we need to eat together, but when we come to America we don’t have time to eat together. Sometimes I’m at school, and my brother and father at work so my mother has to eat by herself at home.”
-Maryan, 17, originally from Somalia.