International Lunchbox Proposal
Children and food tie people together across the world. They evoke passion and empathy, cutting lines that divide politics, religion and class.
International Lunchbox is a collection of first-person narratives, from people across the globe who have the responsibility of providing food for children. It uses their stories as a vehicle for learning about cultural diversity, global issues, and the human experience. It is a multi-dimensional project that is both a documentary record and can also be used as a platform to assist in teaching children about eating, food, tradition, cultures, and cross-cultural barriers. These stories are told by parents, siblings, cafeteria workers, service providers, anyone who has to consider how they are going to feed their children. The project combines a series of compelling photographic and video images with a narrative that is provided by the maker of the meal. The narratives describe the thoughts of these individuals; the choices they make, their histories, ideas, and issues they face.
The goal is to look beyond differences, creating an open window though which to view, very personally, different ways of life, and for the viewers to take home a greater understanding of unifying themes.
The format is a descriptive photo and a narrative piece compiled from a series of questions or interviews, accompanied by a few additional pieces, local lore, recipes, local foods, beliefs, cultural facts.
Tell Your Story
International Lunchbox Questionnaire
I am ultimately looking to capture your voice in the story you tell. Please take a moment and look at the questionnaire attached. You are welcome to answer the questions, all, or just the ones that pertain to you. You are also welcome to go ahead and write in paragraphs or pages the story you wish to tell. Any additional pieces, local lore, recipes, local foods, beliefs, and cultural facts are welcomed, both as written word or images.
If you would like to submit your story or have questions please email, Anna@internatilonallunchbox.com or Anna100@comcast.net
Thank you very much for being part of this project!
Name:
Location: Date:
Connection to Child/Children:
Number of Children:
Ages:
- Who do you create a lunch for?
- What do you think of when putting together your child’s lunch?
- Where do you get the food that creates the lunch?
- Do you have a garden?
- Where do you live a city, farm, country?
- What kinds of ingredients are included?
- Do you have special recipes?
- Are there parts of the lunch that you make sure to include on a daily basis?
- How long does it take for you to make your children’s lunch?
- Where do you make the lunch?
- What do you use to serve the meal?
- Where is the lunch eaten?
- Does the lunch have to be transported?
- What is used to transport the lunch?
- If the lunch is eaten later in the day, where is it eaten?
- How long do your children have to eat their lunch?
- Do you have religious or dietary restrictions that affect the lunch you make?
- Are there ingredients that you avoid?
- Are there foods you believe children should not eat?
- Are there foods that you believe are a necessity for your children to eat for, nutritional or cultural values?
- Does your community influence how you make the lunch?
- How much does it cost to create a lunch?
- Have there been any changes in your way of feeding your children?
- What do you think influences you in regards to what you add or not include in your children’s lunch?
- How traditional is your family and community?
- How has lunch changed since you were a child?
- How important is the lunch meal?
- What are the smallest to largest meals of your day, breakfast, lunch, dinner?
- How important is what you do in creating the lunch for your children?
- How traditional is the lunch you make?
- What did you eat in your childhood lunches?
- Who created your meals as a child?
- What current issues environmental, social, economic are affecting your decisions in what you add to the meal?
- Does your cultural background influence what you make for your children’s lunches?
- Is there anything else you would like to add that is important to you?
- What special points or facts are important to you that you think should be included in this interview?