Flickr: annahsc

International Lunchbox - Tell Your Story

“What’s for lunch?”

I am writing to you to ask to hear your story. I would like to incorporate it into a series of stories telling about what we feed and do for our children and why. I believe that each of us bring so much to our tables that we give our children. Every choice we make, are little presents to them, hold their history, your love, and your wishes for the future. I also believe that we have so much wisdom to share with our communities and that we all benefit by sharing. This is the essential goal of my project.

Children and food are passions of people across the world. They evoke empathy, crossing lines that divide politics, religion and class. It is the one
place where we can all have a deeper and collective understanding.

This project that I am asking you to be a part of is looking at gaining a cross-cultural view of children’s lunches and the stories that go into making them. The stories I am asking for are from everyday people, they are told by parents, siblings, cafeteria workers, service providers, or anyone who has to consider how they are going to feed a child.

I am asking that you share your story by filling in the questions and provide photographs of what you think about when you feed your children. I would also like to include a few additional pieces, local lore, recipes, local foods, beliefs, and cultural facts. In your story we ask that you describe your thoughts, the choices you make, your histories, any ideas, and issues you have that you would like to include.

What am I looking to do with this collection? I am collecting these stories to use then in three ways; on our website, in a book, and in a documentary series. The website is a call to individuals to tell their story. There are many stories to be told, each unique and special, and I hope that many people will share their own so that we can learn from one another, in both expected and unforeseen ways. The book and documentary will be a collection of a few of the stories told. I may ask to come and speak with you or come and photograph and film an interview to allow for more depth.

By bringing these personal stories together I would like to create a place that we look beyond differences, creating an open window through which to view different ways of life and come to an understanding of them; the reader will recognize a shared experience, taking away a sense of community, and will have learned from the collective wisdom, and bring home a few new pieces of wisdom to their own tables.

We all have stories to tell. In talking about this project the first thing I have heard from people is that their story is not interesting, special or unique, and that there is no real story to tell of their own. What they have not taken into account is that their life’s path, the decisions they make and the influences they have make them unique.

Thank you for being a part of our project and our community!
We look forward to hearing about you and your lives.

Kind regards,
Anna

Anna Smith Clark
Founder
International Lunchbox
Oakland, CA USA
Anna@internationallunchbox.com
Telephone 510-295-3244
Skype: Internationallunchbox

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

Thank you very much for being part of this project!

Name:
Location:Date:
Connection to Child/Children:
Number of Children:
Ages:

1.Who do you create a lunch for?

2.What do you think of when putting together your child’s lunch?

3.Where do you get the food that creates the lunch?

4.Do you have a garden?

5.Where do you live a city, farm, country?

6.What kinds of ingredients are included?

7.Do you have special recipes?

8.Are there parts of the lunch that you make sure to include on a daily basis?

9.How long does it take for you to make your children’s lunch?

10.Where do you make the lunch?

11.What do you use to serve the meal?

12.Where is the lunch eaten?

13.Does the lunch have to be transported?

14.What is used to transport the lunch?

15.If the lunch is eaten later in the day, where is it eaten?

16.How long do your children have to eat their lunch?

17.Do you have religious or dietary restrictions that affect the lunch you make?

18.Are there ingredients that you avoid?

19.Are there foods you believe children should not eat?

20.Are there foods that you believe are a necessity for your children to eat for, nutritional or cultural values?

21.Does your community influence how you make the lunch?

22.How much does it cost to create a lunch?

23.Have there been any changes in your way of feeding your children?

24.What do you think influences you in regards to what you add or not include in your children’s lunch?

25.How traditional is your family and community?

26.How has lunch changed since you were a child?

27.How important is the lunch meal?

28.What are the smallest to largest meals of your day, breakfast, lunch, dinner?

29.How important is what you do in creating the lunch for your children?

30.How traditional is the lunch you make?

31.What did you eat in your childhood lunches?

32.Who created your meals as a child?

33.What current issues environmental, social, economic are affecting your decisions in what you add to the meal?

34.Does your cultural background influence what you make for your children’s lunches?

35.Is there anything else you would like to add that is important to you?

36.What special points or facts are important to you that you think should be included in this interview?