Our Grade 6 students have been investigating this very question through their number sense inquiry into decimals and fractions.  Through their inquiry, they learned that math is everywhere, even in food!  They recently worked with fractions to convert one of their teacher’s favourite recipes into one that worked for 10 people, and in the process, enjoyed a delicious smoothie together.

More than food though, they started to think about budgeting!  After their initial foray into cooking, they took a step back to think about what it takes to budget for food, considering all of the other aspects of a budget.  After considering the difference between a want and a need, and armed with a list of some of the costs of living, students created a personal budget for themselves, calculating their cost of living per month and per year. They were then asked to do the same exercise with an average budget and then on a minimum wage budget. With a day’s worth of their minimum wage food budget, students headed to the grocery store to create a healthy meal to feed the class!