STANDARD 2 "FOODS HAVE SOURCES AND ORIGINS."

Foods’ sources and origins are essential to a comprehensive understanding of food’s importance to our daily lives. Students who demonstrate an understanding of Food Education Standard 2 can analyze the way food is grown, harvested, distributed, and used around the world. 

This Standard Means 

• Sources and origins can be considered from an environmental perspective (including food production, cultivation, and consumption).
• Sources and origins can also be considered from a personal/human perspective (including culture, tradition, and community).
• By honoring and acknowledging the land and people who cultivate food, we can better understand the context and stories of cultures and their movements over time.
• We have a role in our food system, and a responsibility to understand how food is grown, harvested, and used around the world.
• Foods are grown, harvested, and used in many different ways.
• Foods have their own unique histories and stories. 
• Food can help connect us to our identities.

FES 2 In Action 

PreK students in Lucy Ten Eyck’s Food Education Fellowship class read books about how seeds grow together:

“Our students began to understand that crops need seeds, dirt, sun, and water in order to grow and make food for us to eat. These vocabulary words became a part of daily conversations in our room. The best of this month was gathering all of our families in our room to share dishes from their country. The students each talked about how they made the dish as well as where they got the ingredients. They were also able to share their learning by explaining to their families how food grows in fields.” 

How to bring FES 2 to Your Students

Try these examples of real-world community experiences with your students aged K-12 to help them understand the importance of FES 2 in their daily lives! 

1. Visit a school or community garden to explore how plants develop, how plants are cared for, and how food is obtained from different plants.
2. Plant seeds of quick-harvest vegetables in the classroom, a school garden, or a community garden. 
3. Examine maps of food/farm distribution across the United States to explore the ways in which different communities of people obtain food.
4. Plan a farmer visit – check with district/school food services manager or food service provider for contact information. Alternatively, visit a farmer’s market.
5. Visit local art museums, and look for representation of food in art from different regions.
6. Analyze menus from different local restaurants that have specific regional/cultural focus.
7. Visit a farm or food processing plant (physically or virtually) to see and explore the process of food production.
8. Invite a farmer, grocery store manager, or food distribution company representative to visit the classroom to answer student questions. 
9. Visit a significant local food source, like a farm or fishery, to learn about regional food origins, local food industry practices, and food distribution in the area.
10.  Encourage students to record an oral history of food culture, both from their own neighborhoods and/or from neighborhoods of differing ethnic or cultural backgrounds.
11.  Research resilient and productive food systems (e.g. sustainable food in a desert) and present findings.