Yesterday Sofie asked me to play dolls with her — as she often does these days — but this time I took the dolls’ conversation to a new place. It went something like this:
Daisy (Sofie’s doll): “Hi. How are you?”
Tiana (my doll):”I’m upset.”
Daisy: “Why?”
Tiana: “I’m worried about fish.”
Daisy: “Fish?”
Tiana: “Yes. I don’t know which fish to buy. Is it better to get the wild caught fish from Alaska or the fish that might contain mercury but is caught locally?”
Daisy: {hesitates} Hey, let’s go shopping!”
Discussion Courses from the
Northwest Earth Institute
OK, so obviously it was over her head, but these types of conversations, spoken regularly, might actually work their way into her daily vernacular.
Fish, and food in general, was on my mind as I had been reading the first chapter in Menu for the Future, the book for a bi-monthly discussion group that Mike and I have organized through the Northwest Earth Institute.
Since we’re hosting the group at our house, Sofie is inevitably a part of it all. She and her playmate Ella (the daughter of another group member) will be present for discussions regarding the state of our food: what we buy, where we buy it, how even the way we eat food affects us… The girls might not really be paying attention to what we say, but I believe the mere act of bringing people together to talk about and share food makes a strong statement.
Fresh, local food from the Pawtucker Winter Farmers’ Market
Sofie’s at that finicky age where she’d probably live on macaroni and hot dogs if I let her. So anything that introduces her to new foods and creates an atmosphere encouraging her to try them is alright with me.
We’ve already had success with this method when we made an outing of the Pawtucket Wintertime Farmer’s Market. Sofie was hungry; farmers offered free samples; she tried (and appeared to like) a watermelon radish. (It probably helped that it was pink.)
The food book discussion group will hopefully encourage Mike and I to try new things as well. For us, it’s less about new food as it is about new food practices: finally joining a CSA, starting a vegetable garden or asking the man behind the meat counter for details about the chicken we’re buying. It’s educational, it’s social, it’s fun. And it’s all part of my master plan to teach Sofie the value of conscious food choices.
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