FoodLab Zine

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FOODLAB

AN ELSEWHERE FOOD EXPERIMENT / SPRING 2015

Spring An Elsewh ere Media 2012 Experimen t FoodLab | 1

INSIDE Q&A..............................................................................................5 Curriculum.............................................................................7-23 a curriculum companion developed by Elsewhere

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About FOODLab was an 8-week after-school program organized by Elsewhere in partnership with Jackson Middle School and Communities in Schools. Two teaching artists (and one artist assistant) taught a weekly after-school cooking class for 7 weeks. In the final week they led the students on a field trip to Elsewhere Museum. The goal of FoodLab was to produce an after-school program that allowed 6th grade students to explore culinary arts, food heritage, and healthy eating habits, while collaborating with in a playful, educational manner. FoodLab is the fourth installment of CoLab, a collaborative laboratory for youth-led experiments at Elsewhere living museum in downtown Greensboro, NC. colab.goelsewhere.org/foodlab

Collaborators Teaching Artists | Anna Luisa Daigneault (Guest Teaching Artist) + Emily Ensminger (Elsewhere House(pitality) Curator), Daniel Nickeson (Teaching Assistant )

Support FoodLab was made possible in part by Communities in Schools of North Carolina, Jackson Middle School, Elsewhere Museum, and The NC arts council*

606 S. Elm Street Greensboro, NC 27406 goelsewhere.org

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Q&A What is a food desert?

Why FoodLab?

The USDA defines food deserts as “...urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy, and affordable food. Instead of supermarkets and grocery stores, these communities may have no food access or are served only by fast food restaurants and convenience stores that offer few healthy, affordable food options.” 23.5 million Americans live in food deserts, including many of the students at Jackson Middle School.

FoodLab provided students with an opportunity to master new food production skills that support their curiosity about food. Each week, the teaching artists steered the program towards making a new type of dish, then discussed the recipes, ingredients and ideas in a group setting. Participants took pride in sharing their diverse dishes with teachers and fellow classmates in youthled collaborative demonstrations at the end of each cooking lesson. Additionally, FoodLab provided unique access to topics including food economies, living practices and cooking skills through art’s imagined programming. These new and often unusual experiences advanced their critical thinking and provided meaningful engagement with a subject they otherwise may not get the opportunity to have.

Why Jackson Middle School?

Jackson is a Title I school, which means that the school receives federal funding to assist 95% of students who are on free and reduced lunch. 90% of public schools in the US receive some kind of Title I funding, but Jackson is unique in that they are a partner site with Communities in Schools. CIS’s Success at School After-School program (SAS), which provides after-school activities at the school site at no cost to families.

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CURRICULUM Introduction Liatur atur, odigeni squodictium faceaquia dus nonessiti diorem. Issimenesti que praecea rchiliquo dene simus sediaep eratiamus sequam labo. Qui cullabor apelese quiantis parumque sam, cusa ditistem autatusae quiamet aut a corpor ma nis dollat elestios expernate culpa voloremoles et latum qui dolenis totatur? Ad mod mil mod eos mil eum nem sam est, opta erovid eos nobitae vel endamus nobis qui nullor aute eiuntec aborest, aceperiorro verro offic to eatus sequam lab il ium venderum facepudae rehendi squibus corias eosa que nonse consequam, corecat odistibus quiaecabo. Il in eos ut voluptatur rem quo volorumqui omnia conet fuga. Nam et qui

Goals Endae consequae. Ximporporem volupta conecum, simil molupti con culliciae explias sitaquias sapisseque parchil ium aut rae nihit as sapit fugita cus necte prest, arcilla borem. Itia voloribus.

Sam, tem abora et ped magnam fugiatur as aut esed etur, volent perio debit hillest quas sitibus a int moluptiatus, si odisint ipicipici te omnisque sedipsunt moluptatenda simagnis magni rectorro min rerrovitamus reptatatiunt volendam eatusciant, qui arumquam, quodios am, con repudae qui oditatur arum quidundi autasim non cus,

Overview Endae consequae. Ximporporem volupta conecum, simil molupti con culliciae explias sitaquias sapisseque parchil ium aut rae nihit as sapit fugita cus necte prest, arcilla borem. Itia voloribus.

Sam, tem abora et ped magnam fugiatur as aut esed etur, volent perio debit hillest quas sitibus a int moluptiatus, si odisint ipicipici te omnisque sedipsunt moluptatenda simagnis magni rectorro min rerrovitamus reptatatiunt volendam eatusciant, qui arumquam, quodios am, con repudae qui oditatur arum quidundi autasim non cus,

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SESSION 1: HAPPY LIFE NUTRITION Mission Nutrition Knowledge + FoodLab Introduction

Line of Inquiry How do you identify a healthy food? What nutrients are in specific foods?

How do you balance your diet?

Materials Granola, fruits and yogurt to create yogurt parfaits

Activity/Lesson The teaching artists and students met for the first time to attended a nutrition course led by A&T University Students called “Happy Life Nutrition.�

Accomplishments The students learned about the the food pyramid and the basics of healthy eating.

Challenges Time restraints made it impossible for A & T to cook from scratch. Food used during the course was bought processed and in packaging. Cooking this way has clear benefits in term sof time, but it is also more expensive, wasteful and less nutritious. For our course we wanted the students to be able to identify foods from seedling to prepared dish as well as acquire cooking skills.

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SESSION 2: GRILLED CHEESE ACADEMY Mission Play + Team Building + Self Authorship

Line of Inquiry How do different varieties of the same kind of ingredient taste? What happens during the melting process? What is fermentation? What is the heritage of different ingredients? What kinds of food does your family cook and what does this say about where you come from?

Materials Whole grain bread, goat cheese, provolone, aged cheddar, parmesan, mushrooms, basil, sugar, tomatoes, pears, apples, sandwich press

Activity/Lesson The lesson began with a skit that inducted students into a fictional secret cooking school. Dressed in Elsewhere costumes and in character, they made over a dozen grilled cheese sandwiches using healthy, interesting ingredients such as thai basil, goat cheese and artisanal bread. They distributed their unique culinary creations to passing teachers. Afterwards the students engaged in a group discussion about food heritage and were asked to complete a recipe form.

Accomplishments The artists recognized the mutual joy it gave students to give back to their teachers and for the teachers to receive a customized, handmade and thoughtful gift from their students. The opportunity for students and teachers to interact outside of school hours in an informal way created stronger bonds. One student proclaimed at the end of class “FoodLab means to take something normal and make it strange!�

Challenges Students had insecurities about being invited to play. Sitting to work on their recipe form was not enjoyable. Most students did not complete it and were sent home with it as an assignment.

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SESSION 3: SMOOTH OPERATORS Mission Ingredient Investigations + Social Behavior

Line of Inquiry How does blending ingredients mask or enhance flavors? When you remove one sense what happens to the other senses? What tastes good together what tastes bad? What is it like to be responsible for another person’s experience?

Materials Fresh, all-natural ingredients such as: frozen blueberries, blackberries, mangos, strawberries, pomegranate seeds, organic juice, bananas, mint, almonds, spinach, milk, organic yogurt, blender, ice.

Activity/Lesson The Activity started with a musical skit about blind taste testing. Students learned how to create over ten types of smoothies using an array of frozen fruits, juices and experimental ingredients including vegetables and nuts.

They played games in which they guessed the contents of each other’s smoothies. Afterwards they visited other classrooms to deliver smoothies and asked others to identify ingredients. They shared the family recipes they had developed with one another in order to discuss family heritage.

Accomplishments Fears around experimenting and play in the classroom were eliminated.

Students began to reveal their individual personalities while still supporting their peers interests in different food combinations. The students initiated the idea of expanding further into the schools community by delivering handmade snacks to fellow students and teachers.

Challenges

It was challenging to get them to use ingredients intentionally without following a recipe. We also tried a third time to further their writing assignment which would develop into a final skit. We realized that as an after school program the students needed hands on learning and benefited more when we supported this.

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SESSION 4: ZEE GRIDDLE RIDDLE Mission Skill Sharing + Cooking Knowledge

Line of Inquiry Where does food come from? What steps does one ingredient take till it reaches a plate? How do you bake from scratch?

Materials Yeast, sugar, flour, eggs, salt, whole milk, butter, apricot preserves, lemon, chocolate sauce, blueberry sauce, caramel, confectioners sugar, electric griddle for pancakes, Elsewhere’s screen printing kit and supplies

Activity/Lesson During the opening skit the students were given clues and a riddle to reveal the activity for the day. Afterwards the students made pancake batter from scratch, then learned how to pour and cook the perfect pancake. They proceeded to screen-print each pancake with a message, such as “where does this come from?”, in different edible sauces. At the end of class we discussed food origins and the cultural history of the pancake. Lastly the food they prepared was shared with teachers and students.

Accomplishments The students learned how to read and follow a recipe. Individually they spoke about cooking at home, took turns safely using a stove and learned how to prepare and pull a print through a screen.

Challenges We recognized they would not be able to develop skits around their own food histories and discussed new ideas for their final performance.

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SESSION 5: MAKE YOUR OWN FOOD CART Mission Creativity + Planning

Line of Inquiry What is a performance? Does it need a stage? If you owned a food cart what do you have to consider when making food? How do you research making a dish? How do you plan an event?

Materials Milkshakes- nuts, dates, pretzels, organic ice cream, frozen mangos, milk, organic berries, bananas. Foodcart- streamers, materials, balloons, pipe cleaners, tape, party decorations

Activity/Lesson The students decorated a food cart together and brainstormed about what kind of food they wanted to serve for their final “performance.” Cake pops were decided upon, because they were sculptural, could be decorated individually, were easy to eat and lasted for the duration of the performance.

The students broke out in groups to research recipes and to plan delegating responsibilities.

Accomplishments Through the students own talents and interests we identified a way for them to successfully reach the goal of a final performance.

They would have a food cart which they would parade around the school delivering handcrafted treats to community members.

While communicating experimental arts is challenging, instinctually students understood and were excited about it as a performance.

Challenges We hoped they would choose a healthier food item for their final performance but also felt they took a lot of time considering the challenges of the food cart as well as choosing a food item that clearly communicated the “Art of Food.”

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SESSION 6: CAKE POPS PART 1 Mission Team Work + Leadership

Line of Inquiry What does it mean to work together? How do you work as a team while respecting individual ideas? How do you make recipes your own?

Materials Organic ingredients- flour, eggs, milk, sour cream, sugar, 5 types of food coloring, popsicle sticks to hold cake pops.

Activity/Lesson After making the icing from scratch with organic ingredients the students worked together to combine it with cake to create a moldable, non-cook dough. They rolled small handfuls into different shapes and colors to form over 100 cake pops.

Accomplishments The students were able to follow the recipes and instructions as a team without much guidance from us. When one person was struggling with an aspect of the cooking they helped one another.

Challenges Because of time and off-site travel restraints the students were unable to come to Elsewhere Museum to cook, as a result we made the cake instead of them baking it themselves.

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SESSION 7: CAKE POPS PART 2 & FOOD CART PERFORMANCE Mission Empowerment + Community Engagement

Line of Inquiry How can each food piece become a sculpture? What are successful and respectful ways of approaching people when they don’t expect it? What ways can we show people we appreciate them? How do you build strong relationships?

Materials 5 types of icing and 5 types of sprinkles to decorate the 100 cake pops.

Activity/Lesson Students decorated the cake pops with many kinds of icing and sprinkles. Each cake pop turned out unique and colorful. The students then embarked on a public performance where they wheeled their food cart into each classroom and office and distributed the cake pops in a demonstration that delighted the staff and their peer students.

Accomplishments The students took turns wheeling the cart down hallways and carrying it up and down stairs demonstrating further teamwork. They also excelled at confidently but respectfully giving out their one-of-a- kind desserts to their network of supporters.

Challenges None- it was a very successful day!

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SESSION 8: ELSEWHERE MUSEUM & FOOD PORTRAITS Mission Visit a Creative Community

Line of Inquiry How can the interests and skills acquired in FoodLab be applied to life?

How will cooking and creativity help me? What is a Living Museum? What is Kitchen Commons?

Materials Popcorn, eggplants, carrots, apples, cucumbers, mango, pineapple, walnuts and almonds

Activity/Lesson Students rode a school bus to Elsewhere. They made made food portraits on plates in Elsewhere’s kitchen, using various small, tasty ingredients that they shaped into portraits of each other. After eating these beautiful edible artworks, they were led on a guided tour where they were taught about Elsewhere and were introduced to artist in residence from all over the world.

Accomplishments The students really enjoyed the museum and were excited to discover a new place to visit in Greensboro. They also got to meet and talk with successful artists.

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