125th ANNIVERSARY SUMMER CAMP
Reading Terminal Market, a beloved Philadelphia food institution has an incredible history in both Philly's agricultural and industrial pasts. In 2015, Reading Terminal brought on board a new General Manager, Anuj Gupta. With the new GM, came the desire to reestablish the Market as a place for people from all walks of life to purchase and consume food and find commonality in that shared experience. Anuj Gupta had previously been the Executive Director for Mt. Airy USA, a community development organization. His vision for the Market is forward facing and dually focused on community building and market competitiveness, explicitly growing a new generation of Reading Terminal customers.
Hungry Education had worked with Reading Terminal Market in a contract capacity, running private food education camps for Summers 2016 & 2017. Hungry was approached by Anuj Gupta and the Merchant's Association (a for-profit entity within Reading Terminal Market) to create a camp for the upcoming 125th Anniversary, Summer 2018. Hungry was presented with an outline of a summer camp that was intended to teach at-risk youth essential life skills and cooking. Hungry saw this as an opportunity to expand the concept of the camp to align with the Market' s mission:
To preserve the architectural and historical character, and function, of the Reading Terminal Market as an urban farmers' market.
To provide a wide variety of produce, meat, fish, bakery and dairy products, and other raw and prepared food, brought to a public market in the center of the city by farmers, growers, producers, and chefs;
To maintain an environment that recognizes and celebrates the diversity of our citizens and fosters their interaction;
To strengthen the historical link and mutual dependency of our rural and urban communities; and,
To achieve this, while preserving the financial viability and achieving self-sufficiency for the Market.
Hungry also saw this as an opportunity to engage at-risk students in a broader context by changing the camp from a simple skill-based approach to one that was project-based, with the camp capstone project of "Building a Reading Terminal Market of the Future." In addition to the project-based approach, Hungry created education content which celebrated Reading Terminal Market's history and influential role in the growth of food, industry, and transportation in Philadelphia.
For the camp, Hungry designed and wrote all curriculum and lessons, created recipes, conducted intensive subject matter research, contracted with industry professionals to provide: lesson talks, field trips, and staffing, consulted on potential liabilities related to business and providing services to children, consulted on application process and providing information to families of children.
Subject matter research, curriculum design, recipe design, business consultation, business development, safety and liability consultation, consumer education, future-ready design, product, and business storytelling
Field Trip Program Design
Based on the success of the 125th Anniversary camp, Hungry was contracted to design Reading Terminal Market's field trip program for children ages 4-18. Before this project, field trips had been mostly informal visits with many schools using the Market as a lunch option and not an actual field trip destination. Reading Terminal saw field trips as a critical opportunity in their efforts to build a future generation of shoppers.
Hungry worked with the Market's education committee to determine four lessons of food, or Market themes within the following age groups: Pre-K and Kindergarten, 1st-5th grades, middle school, and high school. Through research and past experiences with the Market and other teaching opportunities, Hungry proposed the following themes: Bananas, Ice Cream, Global Foods, and Pickles. These themes were kid-friendly food experiences, highly adaptable to PA School Learning Standards, reflected the history (past and current) of the Market, and reflected and advanced the mission of the Market. All of the lessons work as both stand-alone and foundational lessons that build upon each other. Tying the lessons into the PA Educational Learning Standards was necessary to attract a substantial range of schools. The lessons are also designed to be transportable if Reading Terminal Market would like to offer field trip experiences outside of the Market.
The early age lessons (Pre-K & K), utilize a play-based learning approach and focus on early literacy skills. Grades 1-5 are also very hands-on and are designed to accommodate up to 24 children, using different timed stations. Middle school and high school lessons take a project-based approach and are designed to be more independent than the younger aged lessons. All lessons include related PA Learning Standards, teacher resources, hands-on food activities, and post-trip opportunities for learning.
For the field trip program, Hungry designed and created all lesson plans (16 total, plus one bonus lesson and two original education games), developed all lesson recipes (including adaptations for food allergies, or dietary restrictions), researched and wrote all supporting educational material, including corresponding learning standards and discussion questions, studied the following: Reading Terminal Market history, food history, food science, food and humanities, food safety, food waste issues, food futures, and entrepreneurship related to food, consulted on staff hiring, program coordination, field trip safety and liabilities, marketing copy, school communications and support for special needs learners.