All Around the Table: Preserving and Celebrating Seniors’ Food Knowledge

A vegetable garden, laying hens, a fishing boat, berry grounds: when our grandparents were younger, the grocery store was out the back door. Since then, however, Newfoundland and Labrador has become increasingly dependent upon an uncertain global food system, disruptions to which are being felt more frequently on the tables of families here, leading communities to seek more sustainable and healthy local alternatives. In our search we can look to the traditional ways of growing, preserving, and preparing our food that still make sense today. These traditions live on in the knowledge of older generations; wisdom that has been captured in these 12 interviews with seniors from Eastern Newfoundland who share their personal food stories. As a collection these interviews shed light on how the way forward towards a better food system begins by looking for inspiration in our past.