Introduction

Today, most people in the United States buy food at stores. We can find most food that we need and like in grocery stores or other types of stores that also sell food. Even in the middle of a cold winter, when hardly anything grows because of the cold weather, we can find fresh vegetables and fruit in local stores. That produce is usually transported from states or countries where the warm climate enables farmers to farm all year long. In addition to buying food in stores, we can also go to local markets, where we buy food from local farmers and other producers (e.g., fresh bread or pastries from bakers). Finally, some people produce their own food. They grow vegetables and fruit on farms, in gardens, and even in their backyards. They keep animals (cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, etc.) that they eat or that produce additional food (e.g., eggs from chickens or milk from cows and sheep). Some people also hunt for meat. 

How does your family get food? Where does the food that you eat every day come from? How did the food that we buy in stores get there? Was it grown on a farm or made in a factory? Who grew and harvested it on a farm? Who made it at a factory? Who transported it to our local stores? These are important questions that we should ask ourselves every day because many people work very hard to make sure that we have food on our tables.

In this activity, we will look at eight black and white photos that show where food came from in the past. These photos will help us understand how the process of making and getting food has changed over time.