Food for Thought

Interested in waste management and community building, I began my first semester with a studio project that offered food sharing as a gift to my peers. The project was kicked off by a carefully designed conversation around the food culture of different regions of the world while I served homemade Apple Crisps as a treat.

Then I navigated the discussion to issues around food waste and food sustainability by comparing grocery shopping in Iran vs Canada. Finally, I introduce a food-sharing system within our small community using our studio fridge as a Leave and Take!

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The premise of the project was that by serving homemade food, I could break the ice in a group of people that were just introduced to each other and encourage openness for adapting new habits (food sharing). I believe food and eating together is a primal form of bonding that is common among all living things. It was a reasonably successful attempt to make people open up, form a community, and show a willingness for fostering new habits. I can recall moments of laughter and jokes while eating dessert that was a sign of warmth and connection among my peers.

Even though due to The pandemic the food sharing was not possible to be implemented, I don’t regard the project as a failed one because of the ideas it sparked. After reflecting on the process, I was intrigued to find out about the possibilities of integrating other food cultures and food habits into the western food culture. Furthermore, inspired by other course readings, I began to wonder if the current food system is constructed upon a colonial way of life and if there are ways to reimagine it with new understandings and knowledge that come from across the globe, for instance, the Middle East where I grew up!