Bread

Bread plays a symbolic role in The Hunger Games trilogy.

District specialties
Each district has a unique variety of bread.


 * District 3: Bite-sized, square shaped rolls.
 * District 4: Salty, fish-shaped bread. It contains seaweed, which gives it a green tint.
 * District 11: Made using dark ration grain. It is crescent shaped and sprinkled with seeds.
 * District 12: Drop biscuits, usually made from tessera grain. During the 74th Hunger Games training, Katniss remarked that the Capitol's version looked better than the ones from home.

Bread in the Capitol
Several varieties of bread are seen in the Capitol. In contrast to several of the poorer districts whose bread is made from rough ration grain, Capitol breads are made from refined white flour.


 * Flower shaped rolls
 * Puffy bread

Role of bread

 * 'Panem' is Latin for bread. It is most notably a part of the infamous Roman political phrase "panem et circensus," or "bread and circuses [are the only things needed to control a populace]."


 * Gale holds a loaf of bread with an arrow through it and says, "Look what I shot", in his very first appearance.


 * In the 74 annual Hunger Games Katniss receives bread from District 11 shortly after Rue's death.


 * The amount and type of bread that is given in the arena during Catching Fire serves aDistrict_11_bread.png a countdown for start of the rebellion. Bread seems so innocent, yet can be used in communication between mentor and tribute for the start of a rebellion.


 * Peeta, along with his parents, is a baker for District 12. Peeta sounds like pita, which is a type of bread.
 * The time Peeta gave Katniss burnt bread is the first connection between the two.
 * In his interview, Peeta jokes about bread with Caesar Flickerman. He also points out all the district bread to Katniss when they are anticipating their private training sessions.
 * The District 12 marriage tradition ("The Toasting") is a literal meeting of bread and fire, which serve symbolically for Peeta and Katniss in the novels (Peeta as bread and Katniss as fire).