Joy, Culture, and Sharing : Relational Food Literacy in the Classroom

This graduating paper explores the concept of relational food literacy, centered around joy, culture, and sharing, and its presence within middle years food education. Using an action research approach, I examine critical moments in my own teaching practice and document the development and enactment of The Food Stories Project, a student-centered learning experience that invited personal storytelling around the meaning we attach to food-related events. Grounded in multicultural pedagogy and an understanding of pedagogy as relationship, this inquiry connects classroom experiences with literature to bring relational food literacy to the forefront of food education. Findings reveal that relational food literacy is not a set of competencies to be delivered, but a dynamic, lived practice fostered through responsive pedagogy. It is most visible when teachers share power, listen actively, and co-create spaces of care and cultural affirmation. In this context, food becomes more than a topic of instruction, but a vehicle for identity, community, and connection. This work also considers the systemic challenges facing relational approaches, particularly within educational systems that prioritize technical skill development. By positioning relational food literacy as a transformative educational practice, this graduating paper advocates for a more human-centered, culturally sustaining vision of food education, one that cultivates mutual understanding, celebrates diversity, and reclaims the joy and meaning of shared food experiences.