- October 10, 2017
Please join us for the launch of Snacks: A Canadian Food History with Janis Thiessen and special guest Sarah Elvins
When: Tuesday, October 10, 7:00 p.m.
Where: McNally Robinson Booksellers (1120 Grant Avenue), Winnipeg.
Cost: FREE
Old Dutch Potato Chips and Hawkins will be providing snacks for the launch!
About the Book
Snacks is a history of Canadian snack foods, the independent producers and workers who make them, and the consumers who can’t put them down.
Janis Thiessen profiles several iconic Canadian snack food companies, including Old Dutch Potato Chips, Hawkins Cheezies, and chocolatier Ganong. These companies have developed in distinctive ways, reflecting the unique stories of their founders and their intense connection to specific places.
These stories of salty or sweet confections also reveal a history that is at odds with popular notions of ‘junk food.’ Through extensive oral history and archival research, Thiessen uncovers the roots of our deep loyalties to different snack foods, what it means to be an independent snack food producer, and the often-quirky ways snacks have been created and marketed.
Clearly written, extensively illustrated, and lavish with detail about some of Canadians’ favorite snacks, this is a lively and entertaining look at food and labour history.
About the speakers
Sarah Elvins is Associate Professor of History at the University of Manitoba. Her research involves the study of consumption and culture in modern America, particularly consumer identity and local cultures. She is the author of Sales and Celebrations: Retailing and Regional Identity in Western New York State, 1920-1940 and various articles on the Great Depression and alternative currency, consumption, retailing, and cross-border shopping.
Janis Thiessen is an associate professor of History and Associate Director of the Oral History Centre at the University of Winnipeg. She is the author of two previous books, Not Talking Union: An Oral History of North American Mennonites and Labour and Manufacturing Mennonites: Work and Religion in Post-War Manitoba. Her favourite snack food is dill pickle potato chips.
