Blog Post: Food Culture, Supermarkets, and Packaging

Grade Range: 8-12
Resource Type(s): Reference Materials
Date Posted: 7/9/2012

In this post, students will learn how packaging—and the unspoken dialogue between consumers and producers—is one way to understand the connection between supermarkets and food consumption habits in the United States. Package colors, materials, and other design elements of food products are very deliberate. Much like advertising, packaging appeals to our emotions and directs our attention to specific product features, like health claims or a free toy, while distracting attention from other details, like small serving sizes or questionable ingredients.