Smithsonian food exhibit features DeKalb County history

SYCAMORE, Ill. — The DeKalb County History Center is one of five organizations in the United States selected to host the “Food: Gathering Around the Table” exhibit.

The exhibit is created by the DeKalb County History Center in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum on Main Street program.

“The Smithsonian told the story and we added all the local stuff,” said Michelle Donahoe, executive director of the DeKalb County History Center.

“We worked with industry groups, local libraries, cookbook clubs and talked to restaurant owners and chefs,” Donahoe said. “We have over 45 partners for this exhibit so it really reflects the team effort.”

The exhibit includes displays, as well as hands-on activities.

“The touch-screen kiosk has several student videos that were done by the Cortland Elementary students,” Donahoe said. “They picked the topics, did the interviews and helped with the video editing.”

In addition, the kiosk has some Del Monte commercials from the ‘80s and ‘90s.

“They are quite entertaining,” Donahoe said.

The center also received a grant from the Illinois Humanities.

“We are going to do five podcasts in the next year about food,” Donahoe said. “They will feature rural restaurants, food trucks, food insecurity, food traditions and Latino foods.”

Visitors to the center will have the opportunity to enjoy the exhibit for about the next two years.

“The exhibit starts with the Land of Plenty section, which includes information about hunting and gathering and American Indian food production of the Potawatomi villages,” Donahoe said. “The dairy industry was a big part of DeKalb County, so we have milk bottles and milk cans on display.”