Field Notes from a Preservation Station - Incite at Columbia University

Incubated Project

Field Notes from a Preservation Station

Jars of food in a refrigerator

Field Notes from a Preservation Station is a Chicago-based initiative that treats food preservation as a public health imperative. This project addresses two interconnected challenges: the loss of traditional food knowledge and ongoing food insecurity. By bringing people together around the practice of food preservation, this project creates space for meaningful exchange—where techniques are taught, stories are shared, and wisdom passes between generations.

Through hands-on workshops and community gatherings, participants learn preservation methods while building connections with their neighbors. The sessions preserve food for times of need and safeguard cultural knowledge that's at risk of disappearing. The initiative will culminate in a guide, ensuring that these vital skills and stories nourish generations to come.
 

Team Lead

  • 0
    Lori Parett

    Lori Parrett is an artist and cultural practitioner exploring food as memory, craft, and survival. She is the founder of Cakewalk Chicago and the architect of ForkLore, a public preservation kitchen model building community resilience. Her work blends visual art, culinary technique, and social practice.

More Projects

  • go to Embodied Earth
    Embodied Earth
    Breaking through climate knowledge silos with collaborative, interactive public performances driven by research. Part of Assembling Voices
  • go to People, Power, and Planning
    People, Power, and Planning
    Building the capacities of Hungarian civil society organizations through tailored strategic planning and mentorship programs. Part of the Global Change Program
  • go to Columbia University Narrative Intelligence Lab
    Columbia University Narrative Intelligence Lab
    Drawing from literary theory, sociology of knowledge, linguistics, and computation to study how stories shape our personal and shared beliefs.
  • go to Peer Exit and Adolescent Relations
    Peer Exit and Adolescent Relations
    Investigating how peer exits influence the structure of adolescent friendships and homework-helping relationships. Part of the Breakdown/ (Re)generation Project