Please check...
https://sites.google.com/site/sellingthenarrative/home
...for the rest of my group's project and fuller transcriptions of the interviews for quick reference.
For now, enjoy the parts included here-
Jackie, part 1:
My group and I did our first oral history interview with Jackie. We decided to talk to Jackie because she is a married, mother of three, and she is very careful about what she feeds her family. While she was growing up, her father, a health advocate as well, raised chickens and kept up a few crops on his land. In this interview, Jackie offers good reflection about her past and great knowledge and advice for new consumers of natural and organic food.
Jackie, part 2:
Kate, part of the transcription:
For our second oral history interview, my group decided to interview a local health food store manager, Kate. The store she manages is in Blackwood, New Jersey, and has been around for about 35 years. They have had a few different locations here and there, but the locations have always just been in other surrounding plazas. Their store has many products and varieties, and their staff is always eager to help customers.
Linsey: Um…what kinds of things did you eat growing up? Like what was…did you always kinda grow up in the organic side of things?
Kate: No, I grew up in the (chuckles), 50s and 60s so honestly we just had standard food. There wasn’t—I mean Swanson TV dinners were the big excitement.
Linsey: (chuckles) right
Kate: There really wasn’t organic—organic was, um, actually not in households at that time. It really wasn’t. It was— hmm…there were stores like Martindale’s and some of the original health food stores in cities, but you weren’t really finding that in households. I grew up with regular food into the 60s where packaged products, like Poptarts probably just came out and convenience foods were just coming out. So I had a very clean diet until like later 60s when the junkfood revolution kinda started. But then I found my way when I was in high school. I started eating a lot of fruits and vegetables on my own. And I would cook on a school night maybe some of my own food, Because my whole family then had found convenience foods.
Linsey: Right, exactly.
Linsey: Um…So would you say your food lifestyle and choices have drastically changed since working at the store—Did you see--
Kate: Yes, yes.
Linsey: Okay. How so?
Kate: Well, I got an education. I was coming into this just eating a lot of fruit and wheat germ and whatnot, and not really understanding nutrition. I knew I wanted to eat clean, but working for all these years in the industry has been an education. So,I’ve actually eaten all kinds of diets. I was strict vegetarian, then I ate raw foods for a while. So it was really learning about stuff and trying it out.
Linsey: How was the raw foods? Because that’s something I’ve wanna know more about, but I never—
Kate: Ya’ know it was great. When I did the raw foods, it was in the 80s and there were no prepared meals. If you look out in our deli case right now there’s raw foods and stuff. I used to just make my own stuff, and it’s a lot of time chewing (chuckles). I did it for a while. I probably did it for about a year. I started over a winter time, and I was very cold that winter.
Linsey: Right
Kate: Because I was just eating raw fruits and veggies. I wasn’t getting all the nutrition I needed, but I felt great. My energy level was high, but I was cold; I mean through the winter time. But umm…it’s good. If you can keep up with it, it’s good. If you’re someone that’s on the go, it’s not always practical.
Linsey: Cause it’s a lot of preparation.
Kate: It makes ya’ feel good. Definitely.
Linsey: Um…what kinds of things did you eat growing up? Like what was…did you always kinda grow up in the organic side of things?
Kate: No, I grew up in the (chuckles), 50s and 60s so honestly we just had standard food. There wasn’t—I mean Swanson TV dinners were the big excitement.
Linsey: (chuckles) right
Kate: There really wasn’t organic—organic was, um, actually not in households at that time. It really wasn’t. It was— hmm…there were stores like Martindale’s and some of the original health food stores in cities, but you weren’t really finding that in households. I grew up with regular food into the 60s where packaged products, like Poptarts probably just came out and convenience foods were just coming out. So I had a very clean diet until like later 60s when the junkfood revolution kinda started. But then I found my way when I was in high school. I started eating a lot of fruits and vegetables on my own. And I would cook on a school night maybe some of my own food, Because my whole family then had found convenience foods.
Linsey: Right, exactly.
Linsey: Um…So would you say your food lifestyle and choices have drastically changed since working at the store—Did you see--
Kate: Yes, yes.
Linsey: Okay. How so?
Kate: Well, I got an education. I was coming into this just eating a lot of fruit and wheat germ and whatnot, and not really understanding nutrition. I knew I wanted to eat clean, but working for all these years in the industry has been an education. So,I’ve actually eaten all kinds of diets. I was strict vegetarian, then I ate raw foods for a while. So it was really learning about stuff and trying it out.
Linsey: How was the raw foods? Because that’s something I’ve wanna know more about, but I never—
Kate: Ya’ know it was great. When I did the raw foods, it was in the 80s and there were no prepared meals. If you look out in our deli case right now there’s raw foods and stuff. I used to just make my own stuff, and it’s a lot of time chewing (chuckles). I did it for a while. I probably did it for about a year. I started over a winter time, and I was very cold that winter.
Linsey: Right
Kate: Because I was just eating raw fruits and veggies. I wasn’t getting all the nutrition I needed, but I felt great. My energy level was high, but I was cold; I mean through the winter time. But umm…it’s good. If you can keep up with it, it’s good. If you’re someone that’s on the go, it’s not always practical.
Linsey: Cause it’s a lot of preparation.
Kate: It makes ya’ feel good. Definitely.
Afterward
After conducting these two interviews, the most important lessons my group members and I learned is that shopping and eating organically does not have to be hard, and it doesn't have to be all once. Start small first, just like Jackie explained. When Jackie started food shopping for herself, she began buying just organic basics--like eggs and milk. These were items she didn't have to buy every week, so the little extra spending here and there didn't effect their monthly budget by any traceable amount. When consumers are ready to take the next step, they can do like Kate instructed later in her interview and come in with a list of a few things that they would like to try the organic "companion" to. That way, consumers will not be overwhelmed, and they will make changes at their own pace to suit they family's needs and desires. When it comes to eating more organically, steps can and should be taken, and it does not matter whether they are large or small, because every little bit helps.