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Food for Thought: A Youth Zine Project

Share your food story, food experiences, or dreams for your local food system through zine-making!

What is a zine?

A zine is a self-published booklet or magazine, often created by hand or digital tools. It typically focuses on niche interests or personal expression.

About the project

From April to June 2025, Nourish Nova Scotia and Feed Nova Scotia collaborated on a zine initiative aimed at gathering and amplifying youth perspectives on food-related topics. To support the zine-making process, in-person workshops were held across the province, giving youth the opportunity to learn about zine creation, access supplies, and engage in meaningful discussions about food. As always, sharing good food together was part of the fun!

Workshops were held at some amazing community spaces such as Ross Creek Art Centre Annex (Kings County), Our House Youth Wellness Centre (Shelburn), The Youth Project (Cape Breton), YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia (Bridgewater), MacPhee Centre for Creative Learning (Dartmouth), and Wonder’neath Art Studio (Halifax). The project showcased youth’s creativity and enthusiasm as they shared their food stories in imaginative and meaningful ways.

Youth Zine Library

Storytelling through zines is one of several methods we are exploring to meaningfully engage youth in conversations about food and food systems change. Keep an eye out for future opportunities  – and in the meantime, take a look at the collection of zines created by youth! Click on the zine cover to view the full zine.

The Orange
by anonymous, age 16. It’s the orange by Wendy Cope because it’s food related (which was the prompt) and it’s my favourite poem of all time.
Delicious Yummy Tasty Savoureux Breakfast
by a youth participating in a zine-making workshop at the YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia
Apples
by Ashe, age 12. My zine is about apples, because they're one of my favorite fruits.
Bugs that Make the Garden Grow
by Ariella, age 17. It is about different kinds of bugs that you can find in your garden.
How to Make Lemonade
by Zaran, Age 34. What it says on the box - a guide on how to make delicious lemonade!
Safe Food Showdown
by Cherry, Age 25. All about the rating and comparing of different 'safe foods'!
The Bakery
by Sela, Age 16. This zine is about life in the bakery where I work. I wanted to depict the every day goings on of my new workplace and express how maybe I wish things were different, but at the end of the day, it’s really not all that bad.
Food I Love (That Doesn't Love Me Back)
by Kenzie, Age 25. This zine is all about the pains of discovering an allergy later-in-life.
I Saw this Food Story in National Geographic
A zine-ified version of an interesting National Geographic story, showcasing the fridges of humanity!
Maia's Safe Foods
by Maia, age 13. A showcase of 'safe foods' from different categories!
Foods that I Love
by Zoey, age 15
"Good Food"
by a youth participating in a zine-making workshop at Our House Youth Wellness Centre in Shelburne, NS
YMCA Cook it Up
by a youth participating in a zine-making workshop at the YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia
Desserts
by a youth participating in a zine-making workshop at the YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia
Snack Time
by a youth participating in a zine-making workshop at the YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia
Bug Fav Foods
by a youth participating in a zine-making workshop at the YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia
Untitled 1
by a youth participating in a zine-making workshop at the YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia
Untitled 2
by a youth participating in a zine-making workshop at the YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia

Submit Your Zine!

Want to submit your own zine about food to add to the collection? Follow these simple steps to have your digital zine added to the collection:

  1. Save your zine in one of the following formats: JPG, PNG, PDF, DOCX, etc.
  2. Submit your zine using the link below
  3. Nourish team members will review your zine and add it to the digital library
  4.  
Submit Your Zine Project

Workshop Details

All workshops are free to attend. Food and materials to create zines will be provided at all workshops.

Ross Creek Art Centre Annex

  • Annapolis Valley

When: May 4th from 12 pm to 5 pm

Registration: None required, just drop in!

Our House Youth Wellness Centre

  • Shelburne

When: May 10th from 12 pm to 3 pm

Who: Youth in grades 7-12

Register here.

The Youth Project

  • Sydney

When: May 15th from 4 pm to 7 pm

Registration: None required, just drop in!

YMCA of Southwest Nova Scotia

  • Lunenburg

When: May 31st from 1 pm to 4 pm

Registration: None required, just drop in!

MacPhee Centre for Creative Learning

  • Dartmouth

When: June 7th from 11 am to 2 pm

Registration Link Here

Wonder’neath Art Studio

  • Halifax

When: June 11th from 5 pm to 8 pm

Registration Link Here

Virtual

  • Online

Details Coming Soon!