People use food
not only as nourishment but also as a form of cultural and social expression in
their everyday lives (Fjellström,
2009, pp. 56–57).
Young people’s attitudes, eating habits and cultural expressions through food are affected by their socioeconomic conditions and class (Simon et al., 2018, pp. 694–696). Additionally, their eating and drinking habits are affected by peer groups and social norms in youth cultural spaces (Wills, 2005, pp. 104–106, 109). Since each person negotiates their relationship to food choices and meals differently, it is necessary to conduct studies on how young people learn to express their identity through food in their leisure time.
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Learning Food-Related
Knowledge and Skills
In Finland, home
and school have traditionally played strong roles in the learning of knowledge
and skills about food (Janhonen,
2016, pp. 114–115). Parents influence their children’s eating habits
through their own food choices, schedules, family meals, discussions about food
and information sharing (Palojoki,
2003, pp. 53–54). The importance of family meals and the time allocated for
shared meals may vary between families (Quarmby
& Dagkas, 2015, pp. 334–336), although the healthiness of food is
rarely the main priority (Palojoki
& Tuomi-Gröhn, 2001, p. 21).
In this article,
we focus on youth work at youth centres and explore how young people learn
food-related skills, including food preparation, in informal learning
environments. At Finnish youth centres, young people can meet each other,
participate in activities, have fun together and gain support and encouragement
from adults. The activities offered by these centres are mainly based on
wishes, needs and interests of young people, and social interaction plays an
important role in them.
Although not
adequately studied in the research on youth work, food is always present at
Finnish youth centres. Young people may bring their own snacks, and there are
kiosks and cafés where young people can buy snacks.
Since youth
centres aim to create opportunities for peer interaction, it is understandable
that food and food-related practices are part of the social construction of
youth centres. Food can mediate social interactions (Holm et
al., 2012), and it is common to eat with others (Higgs,
2015, pp. 39–42).
In recent years,
Finnish youth centres have begun to offer young people the opportunity to
regularly prepare food together, which means that they have become informal
food learning environments (Kauppinen,
2018, p. 98).
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Did you know that good nutrition depends not only on the food you eat. But also on the flatware you use. Poor-quality flatware can damage your teeth or make eating uncomfortable.
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