Lori Parrett

Living the Shelf Life: Illinois Stories of Food, Memory, and Survival

Illinois has always known how to keep something for later. From the grain elevators that revolutionized global trade, to canning plants that stocked shelves across the Midwest, to the quiet work happening today in home kitchens and community pantries—preservation is part of this state’s DNA. Living the Shelf Life explores how Illinois built its own form of survival infrastructure, where jars, freezers, and recipes hold not just food, but memory.

Chef Lori Parrett, founder of Cakewalk Chicago and Illinois Humanities Road Scholar, leads audiences through this layered history of preservation as both necessity and creativity. Through storytelling, conversation, and accessible demonstrations, she connects industrial food history to everyday acts of care—like freezing cake for a repast or saving seeds from a backyard tomato. The program invites participants to see food preservation not as nostalgia, but as agency: a practice of resourcefulness, dignity, and belonging.

Warm, practical, and rooted in Illinois history, Living the Shelf Life offers an invitation to look at our pantries—and our past—with new eyes.

Audience Recommendations

This program is best suited for adult audiences interested in food heritage, memory, and community life. It appeals to those who enjoy connecting everyday practices—like canning, freezing, and cooking—to larger stories of history and resilience. Ideal host partners include libraries, community centers, historical societies, food cooperatives, sustainability groups, and civic organizations focused on self-reliance or cultural preservation. It also resonates with garden clubs, craft and maker communities, local business incubators, and book clubs exploring memoir, food writing, or cultural history, homesteading circles, and readers exploring memoir or local food history. 

While the program can adapt for intergenerational groups, it is designed primarily for adults who appreciate thoughtful storytelling, conversation, and reflection on how Illinois families have always known how to keep something for later.

Program Logistics

This program is 45–60 minutes with a Q&A included. Recording is not permitted without prior written consent from Chef Lorie Parrett. 

The host should provide a microphone (handheld, clip-on, or podium, depending on room size), a table or podium for notes and small display items, a power outlet near the presentation area, and access to a screen or monitor with HDMI input (for optional visuals). It is recommended that the host also provides a projector or large display visible to audience, basic sound system for clear audio in larger spaces, and chair or stool available depending on room setup.

Accessibility & Format Notes: This program is offered in English and adaptable for various audience sizes and settings (libraries, museums, community centers, classrooms). Visual materials are self-contained; no special audience supplies are required.