Food in Focus: An Elev8 New Mexico Photo Project

Students from the Native American Community Academy, Grant Middle School and Wilson Middle School worked with their teachers, families, providers and  Elev8 staff to produce Food in Focus, a photography exhibit that appeared in the Rotunda of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque in December 2009.

More than 100 students were given disposable cameras to capture images that reflect their everyday relationship with food. The exhibit featured 58 photographs taken by 30 students across Albuquerque. It integrated photography taken by the students with videos of the students explaining why they chose to capture these specific images and how it relates to their cultural identity.

Many students concurred that sharing a meal with their family was the highlight of their day. Nazhoni Cunejo, a seventh-grader at Grant Middle School, said, "One of the pictures I chose is of my family eating at the table because that is where we eat every night. We talk about our days and I feel really comfortable there. My mom thinks that it helps me to be closer to my family."Many of the students touched on the rituals and traditions surrounding food from elaborate holiday meals, to day-to-day gatherings around the dinner table, to eating dry ramen noodles at lunch with their friends. 

TheFood in Focus exhibit offers a revealing look at how youth view themselves and their cultural identity through what they eat, how the food is prepared, and how this creates a close relationship within their families and communities.

The exhibit was organized and produced by Megan Mills-Novoa, a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow, working with Elev8 New Mexico. As a Hunger Fellow, Megan works to address hunger among New Mexican youth through leadership development and art.