Food Shrine

The first art installation consists of over 1200 food items set up in the English graduate student offices at the University of Tennessee. The goal? To redistribute these non-perishable, still-sealed items to graduate students who often exist in a state financial precarity and face food insecurity. Within the first week, it created a buzz and was informally dubbed “The Food Shrine”.

 

Interestingly, after a week or two, graduate students began making offerings to The Shrine, suggesting a shared ethics of care and mutual aid.

 

For full transparency, the installation was clearly labeled as “dumpster food”. The Shrine itself was arranged to create an aesthetically appealing presentation of the recovered items. Additionally, there was signage indicating that the food was wiped down using disinfecting wipes (also from the dumpster).