What Should We Eat, and Why?
How our 7th Graders’ Food Choices Expedition brought a healthy and local meal to our school community!
What do Hot Cheetos, granola bars, and leftover pizza have in common? In 7th grade at Detroit Prep, these everyday foods helped students wrestle with one of Michael Pollan’s central questions from The Omnivore’s Dilemma: “What should we eat?” By examining their own food choices, students began to think more critically about where food comes from, how it fuels their bodies and brains, and how everyday decisions connect to bigger systems.
To launch our first Expedition of the year, students began by reading excerpts from their anchor text, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. They analyzed video clips from documentaries to learn more about an author’s purpose and how they structure messages in order to convey key ideas. By evaluating an author’s motive, students became more critical consumers of information so that they could be thoughtful about what is presented to them.
After building this background knowledge in Case Study 1, students began to apply their new learning. We took our first field study of the year to Eastern Market, where we met Chef Ederique Goudia. Chef “E” has dedicated her career to the restaurant industry and creating solutions to eliminating food waste. On our visit, she taught us more about Eastern Market, as well as how to adapt a menu to the local environment, which ensures that a recipe stays fresh and community-based.
Finally, our learning all merged together in the final Case Study of the Expedition. Students worked on an argumentative essay, defending an action that individuals can take in order to make healthier and more sustainable food choices in their everyday lives. They also crafted an infographic to raise awareness and convey their own key ideas more clearly.
The most exciting part of this culminating Case Study was planning our final product – making lunch for the ENTIRE school! First, Chef E came to visit us at Detroit Prep so that we could brainstorm ideas for our menu. After her visit, we turned our ideas into a survey, which we asked all classes to take. From analyzing that data, we were able to determine the best choices for a school lunch that the majority of students would like, while incorporating fresh & local ingredients as much as possible.
When the day finally came, our 7th graders showed ALL the Habits of Character, but especially responsibility, curiosity & creativity, and cooperation as they worked together to assign different roles, accommodate dietary restrictions, and ensure that everything was served equitably and efficiently. With Chef E’s guidance, they squeezed lemons for a juice drink, put Michigan cherries on the top of brownies, and plated meals for 450+ students, across two days.
Throughout this Expedition, the goal wasn’t to tell students what they should or shouldn’t eat. Instead, it was to help them pause, ask better questions, and make more thoughtful choices about where their food comes from. By analyzing, researching, and collaborating on our lunch service, students practiced skills that reached far beyond the classrooms at Detroit Prep. We hope these conversations continue at home, at the grocery store, and around the dinner table, as students keep asking: “What should we eat, and why?”
