Remix of "Feeding the Hungry with Food Stamps Program"
Overview
This is a remix of "Feeding the Hungry with Food Stamps Program". This resource is the beginning of a list of identifying areas in the resource that need additional resources to create a more pluralistic understanding of the ways our nation can feed all people.
The original resource from Digital Public Library of America can be found here: https://www.oercommons.org/courses/feeding-the-hungry-with-food-stamp-programs
Background on "Feeding Remix of "Feeding the Hungry with Food Stamps Program"
"Feeding the Hungry with Food Stamps" is an openly licensed resource (CC-BY) created by the Digital Public Library of America and is found on OERCommons here - https://www.oercommons.org/courses/feeding-the-hungry-with-food-stamp-programs
- This collection uses primary sources to the history of food stamp programs. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.
Why we have created a Remix of "Feeding the Hungry with Food Stamps Program"
This resource has many strong primary source, historical documents that provide some context about the creation and use of the Food Stamps Program.
When thinking critically about the resource, there are gaps, assumptions and stereotypes within the resource.
Here is a review and interrogation of the resource from educator Christina Spears.
USING TOOL FOR IDENTIFYING BIAS BEFORE USING / REMIXING RESOURCE
Am I a member of a privileged or oppressed group based on my racial/gender/disability/citizenship identity?
How does my racial/gender/disability/citizenship identity impact how I show up in my relationships, curriculum, and / or pedagogy?
I am a working class Black woman, nondisabled, US citizen. I hold both privileged and oppressed identities. As a working class person, who grew up in a working class home, where we grew our own food, shopped at Ingles/Food Lion/Walmart, and often ate school lunches, I have thought a great deal about how my social class impacts my access to food and how important food and food rituals were in my family home. Because I am a Black woman (oppressed identities), I see how race and gender are not considered as part of the content of this text. I know that there are assumptions, stereotypes about who received food stamps or government assistance, and for what reasons. I wonder how the images and videos in this resource disrupt or perpetuate that thinking. There are not questions or resources to help students interrogate this. As a nondisabled US citizen (privileged identities), I need to do some learning and unlearning to answer the question from the tool - Does this resource leave out concepts of disability or neurodivergence / citizenship status when they are needed for deeper context? I’ve recently come to learn that folks with disabilities and DACA recipients may or may not be eligible for food stamps or government assistance for food. Generally, I wonder how I can remix this resource or find additional resources to interrogate that question to ensure I don’t cause or perpetuate harm against these historically and culturally oppressed groups for lack of disrupting my own biases.
In order to provide additional opportunities for representing pluralism within the resource, we have begun a collection of resources that can be added along with critical questions.
Resources to consider adding in a Remix of the resource
Image resources
- Image from US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that shows students eating school lunch - https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/7995804478
- Image from USDA that shows volunteers tending a community garden - https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/52375848227/
Video resources
- The White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health: What it Means to Me - Dr. Sara Bleich - a video about her personal connection to USDA nutrition assistance programs.
- Critical question - Why do you think the speaker is choosing to share her personal experiences?
- Critical question - "To end hunger" - The video shares that the goal of the White House conference is to end hunger. What barriers will exist to this goal?
- Critical question "reduce diet-related diseases" - The video How might this category of diseases be challenging when thinking about identify and culture?
Written resources
- Handout from USDA about National School Lunch Program -