Food Fair

 

About the Food Fair

 
The What

Grossmont College's “One Theme, One Campus” Food Fair is a campus-wide competition that provides students the opportunity to present issues related to food across the disciplines and have their work evaluated by peers and faculty. Students are able to showcase their own work, and they are also able to learn how their peers are covering the same issue across many disciplines. It encourages the development of critical thinking skills and the use of assignments that allow faculty to effectively engage the students in a discussion that encourages them to apply the concerns raised in the project not only in the classroom but in the larger campus and local communities as well.

 
The Why

Students learn about this theme in their classes and the Food Fair enables them to delve deeper into a particular issue related to this theme and with greater autonomy. Students develop innovative ideas, present their work, gain a greater understanding of this theme through others' presentations, and strengthen their critical thinking skills as they evaluate the entries of other Grossmont College students. Students also gain a sense of accomplishment by being engaged and active participants on their campus and in their community. This project is based on the theory of integrative learning, which employs interdisciplinary assignments and discussions to create a connectedness across the curricula between disciplines that otherwise might seem unrelated to many students. Integrating learning subjects and disciplines that are typically separate allows students to bring together concepts, methods, or languages from two or more disciplines in order to explain a phenomenon, solve a problem, create a product, or raise a new question.

  

Categories

  • Social Justice
  • Sustainability
  • Human Health
  • Local Application
  • Food Deconstructed
Social Justice:

Entries into this category should focus on issues of social inequity and attempt to address some form of inequity in relation to food. These may include (but are not limited to) issues of access, labor (e.g., human trafficking in the fishing industry), economics, political power, and legal issues. Students should address the nature of the inequity and offer suggestions/solutions that would better promote Social Justice.

 
Sustainability:

Entries into this category should present a project that focuses on food sustainability. Topics may include (but are not limited to) ecological health (e.g., pesticides and runoff), energy usage, waste, effective transport, and technological interventions. Students should consider both current practices and/or technologies and offer suggestions for improvement.

 
Human Health:

Entries in this category should focus on some aspect of food and its impact on human health. This may include (but is not limited to) pollution, contamination, disease (e.g., avian flu), and/or personal nutrition. The focus may be narrow (a single human body) or may take a broader view and consider food in relation to public health issues.

 
Local Application:

Entries in this area must offer a food project that could actually be implemented in the San Diego region. The projects may include (but are not limited to) “local” improvements to the growth to consumption processes of the agriculture/seafood industry, implementation of sustainable food systems, and the creation/implementation of projects which improve access to healthful foods (e.g. a canned food drive), and promotion/education plans.

 
Food Deconstructed:

Participants of this category will present on the inner workings and dynamics of food science. Topics can range from digestion, to the process of fermentation, to chemical reactions in food recipes. A combination of chemistry and biology, this category seeks to explain how food works internally or externally.

 

Rules and Documents

  • Students from any course may choose to enter into any category. Entries must be entered into one of the categories and that category cannot be changed after the event has begun.
  • Students are encouraged to work in teams. (Consult with your instructor for further guidelines).
  • Students must create a presentation for display of their work. This may take the form of a poster, a model, an original work of art, or a media presentation.
  • Students must have this work on display and be present to represent it on the day(s) of the competition. Teams may divide up the time so that at least one person is present at all times.
  • Awards for First Place and Runner-Up will be given in each category. These awards will be based on a tally of votes from participating students, faculty, and from general viewers. All participating students must submit a fully completed voting form. For all others, voting is optional. Only votes from fully completed forms will be counted.
  • If your presentation will require the use of campus technology (smart cart, projector, screen, etc.), or if it requires access to electrical power, you must notify your instructor at least two weeks before the event.
  • In addition to preparing your presentation, you must also submit an information sheet to your instructor. (This will be available from your instructor in advance.