Exploring the Power of Food Stories to Elevate and Amplify Diverse Voices in the Food System

This project began as research for a Master’s of Food Studies thesis project. Having spent two years learning to use food as a lens to study society and gaining an intimate understanding of the incredibly nuanced nature of the food system, I wanted to take a closer look at the ways in which food itself and how we talk about it shapes our individual and communal identities. It turns out, there is a great deal to be learned about a person and the world in which they live through the stories they tell about food. Furthermore, as a universal necessity and significant aspect of all cultures, food has the power to bridge socio, cultural, economic, geographic divides, and function as a catalyst for human connection.

Unfortunately, the food system is built upon power structures that reinforce systemic inequity in terms of access, opportunity, mobility, and representation while also privileging certain voices and muting others. This project seeks to explore the ways food storytelling collections can make space for previously silenced or marginalized voices to add their words and experiences to the dominant narrative. By challenging the dominant narrative, which is primarily informed by the experiences white, upper-class, cisgender, male individuals, we strive to highlight voices that are more representative of society at large. Creating a communal narrative from the voices of many also breaks from the assumption that a single story can ever represent the realities of every individual.

This website is for anyone interested in starting their own food story project, for anyone who has a story to tell or who wants to support others whose stories haven’t been told before. Please take the time to explore these pages and the many resources about food stories that are shared. The information contained in these pages does not begin to scratch the surface of what exists and what is possible and certainly cannot address all of the issues of representation and struggles for justice that exist within the food system or celebrate all of the efforts made to challenge them. There will always be more room to grow and learn just as there will always be more stories to tell.