Food, Family, Culture & Community

Food brings people together. Every day, all over the world, people sit down and share meals with each other. Student Reporting Labs wants you to explore the food traditions in your life.

How does what you eat shape who you are?

What kinds of dishes do you enjoy with your family and friends? How do these foods and recipes tell a story about you, your family, your culture, and your community?

Here’s a playlist of what stories have been produced from this prompt.

For this project, your challenge is to produce a FEATURE STORY about how food connects to family, culture, and community. Think about the meals you love– holidays, traditions, restaurants, people and their stories. Think about the process of making or eating a favorite recipe and sharing it with people you care about

INSPIRATION: A menu of options to think about:

• Tell a personal story about your favorite dish: Spam 3 Ways
• Share how recipes are passed through generations: The Beauty of Gefilte Fish, Parents Rate Their Children’s Kimchi
• Explore a food festival or holiday meal and what it means to your community
• Tell a story about a restaurant you love: How To Run a TikTok-Famous Bodega
• TikTok: students teach us about Nopales for Hispanic Heritage month

As you think about how to make your own story, try to keep young people front and center, and the food as secondary (although your broll should be beautiful enough to make the audience hungry!).

Short social media video (TikTok, YouTube shorts, IG reels ect. 60-90 seconds): Use your creativity, have fun, and tell a story about food, culture, and identity. Check out SRL’s social media video guidelines.

Profile (2-4 min long): The story of one person. It has voiceover (VO), b-roll, pictures, nats (natural sound), interviews of family members or peers of that one person.

News package (3-5 min long): Video stories about newsworthy issues and topics, factual information, balanced reporting, research, voice overs, soundbites, b-roll footage, infographics, reporter standup, nats (natural sound bites).

NAT package (2-4 min long): A video story guided by the natural sound from interviews and the environment. Natural sound, commonly known as “NAT sound,” puts the viewer in the place the story was told by enhancing the scene(s) with video containing rich audio such as a musician singing at a train station, a storm approaching, or the sound of a tractor plowing the field. This kind of story would often not have a voiceover narration.

No matter which format you choose, b-roll is going to be very important! A good profile, short social media video, news package or NAT package could be taken to the next level with some great b-roll! Here’s more advice on using your phone to film broll.

Use b-roll as the VISUAL REPRESENTATION of the story. If you are interviewing someone, listen closely, make notes, and then record video of the actions, objects, and places described during the interview. Especially for this project, strong b-roll will help communicate the story of the artwork or artist you choose.

THINK CRITICALLY

• Take a few minutes to think through the following questions individually: what are my favorite meals? How do I share them with my family and friends? What do these foods reveal about my culture and my community?
• Once you finish brainstorming, share your thoughts and ideas with your class or group.

FIND YOUR STORY

Use this storytelling roadmap to complete your story. Use it as both a guide and a checklist.

• QUICK GUIDE: Video Production
• SRL CHALLENGE SKILLS AND STANDARDS CHECKLIST

Rule of Thirds

Look at the image below. ​Typically, video journalists frame their interview subjects to follow the rule of thirds​. When composing a shot for most types of recorded interviews, imagine there’s a Tic-Tac-Toe grid over the screen. Make sure the main action, or the subject's eye, is positioned at one of the intersecting points. Typically the subject looks at the interviewer NOT​ at the camera. You can also flip the side of the frame for stories with multiple interviews.

1. Role-Play Simulation Activity: Culinary Voices: Global & Local Debate

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW:

Students will participate in a role-play debate, taking on the perspectives of different stakeholders in the world of food. Each role represents a unique voice in the conversation about culinary tradition and innovation.

Possible Roles:

• Local Chef/Restaurant Owner: Defends traditional recipes and local food identity.
• International Food Critic: Brings global culinary trends and fusion ideas.
• Community Leader/Family Elder: Highlights cultural and historical significance of family recipes.
• Global Food Influencer: Advocates for mixing international techniques and ingredients into local cooking.

PURPOSE:
This simulation gives students a creative way to practice research, communication, and collaboration—especially if they’re still building confidence in real-world interviews. It’s a fun and realistic bridge from fiction to authentic storytelling.

Instructions:

1. Assign Roles and form groups.
2. Research & Prepare arguments from your role’s point of view using the guiding questions.
3. Debate! Host a live or recorded conversation where each role presents and responds to others.
4. Optional: Include short clips of the debate in your final video project.
   

Discussion Questions:

• How can culinary traditions be preserved while embracing global innovation?
• What impact do global food trends have on local economies and communities?
• How does food help us understand culture, sustainability, and identity?
• What risks and benefits come with blending local and global food practices?
• How can different voices work together to find a balance?

2. Games-Based Activity: Food Fusion Challenge

ACTIVITY OVERVIEW:

Students will become culinary innovators, tasked with creating a fusion dish that combines local and global flavors. This hands-on challenge encourages creativity, teamwork, and cultural curiosity.

STEPS:

1. Research Phase:

• Choose one local recipe and one internationally known dish.
• Learn about their ingredients, cooking methods, and cultural meaning.
  

1. Design Phase:

• Brainstorm ways to blend the two recipes into one original dish.
• Create a short “design brief” explaining your fusion concept and reasoning.
  

1. Presentation Phase:

• Create a 3–5 minute video introducing your dish.
• Share the inspiration, process, challenges, and what you learned.
  
  

Discussion Questions:

• What makes your local recipe meaningful?
• Why did you choose the international dish you did?
• How does your fusion dish reflect both tradition and innovation?
• What challenges came up, and how did you overcome them?

Production and Submission Steps

Story Planning:

• Outline your story focused on how food connects to identity, culture, or community.
• Use what you’ve gathered in the role-play and fusion challenge to enrich your narrative.
  

Video Production:

• Film clips from the role-play debate and the fusion challenge.
• Include brainstorming, cooking (if applicable), and final reflections.
  

Editing:

1. Create a 5-minute video that flows clearly from beginning to end
2. Highlight key moments of discovery, insight, and creativity
3. Share and tag @studentreporting labs on your social media channels