Educators will find that food history projects fit naturally into the current educational initiative of inquiry.  Students find something that interests them – maybe it’s an old photograph or a grandmother’s heritage recipe – and through their inquiry, they find out about themselves, their families and communities, and British Columbia.

Click on the files below for lesson plan ideas to include food history inquiry into your classes.

VINTAGE RECIPES AND COOKBOOKS

MUSEUM RESEARCH

DECODING OLD PHOTOGRAPHS

BC FOOD PERSONALITIES

BC FOOD CULTURES

INTERGENERATIONAL FOOD STORIES

EARLY AND CURRENT FOODS AND FOOD PRODUCTION IN BC

FOOD AND COLONIALISM AND IDENTITY (Note this is an article that contains lesson plans)

Food History Contest

In 2012 and 2013, BCFH hosted Eat Your History Contest for BC Students.  The contest involved students submitting their food history inquiry reports. The contest has not been held for several years but teachers are encouraged to try some of the inquiry ideas in their Food Studies course. The winning entries provide examples of what was researched.

Past Winners of the Food History Contest

2012 Winner

1st Place
Salmon Heritage (Winston Churchill Secondary)

2013 Winners

1st Place
Apples Galore (Winston Churchill Secondary)

2nd Place
Buon Appetito! Italian food and Culture in BC (Beattie School Of The Arts)

3rd Place
Steveston’s Fisherman’s Wharf (Winston Churchill Secondary)

The contests were made possible through the financial support of THEN/Hier, the Canadian Home Economics Foundation,  THESA (Teachers of Home Economics Specialist Association) and the Canadian Home Economics Foundation.