KENNEBUNK — Memories have an unfortunate habit of fading. To prevent them from being lost to the flow of time, history takes a freeze-frame, preserving them so future generations may have access to the inexorable stream of decades, of centuries ”“ those collective moments that comprise the character of an era.

In the coming months, Kennebunk’s Brick Store Museum will ask the public to contribute as much of those memories as it can: artifacts, stories and clothing that embody the American wars of the 21st Century. In this way, 2014 will be a year in which the museum not only displays that history, but records it for posterity, salvaging a snapshot of a time that still lives in the minds of those who bore witness.

And if all that results in a positive impact on the community, then all the better.

On April 22, “Vitamin V: How Food Fought the Second World War” will debut in the museum’s gallery spaces, and its aim is unique: To examine the culinary sacrifices made by a country in which war was a palpable presence in every American home.

As luck would have it, the Brick Store’s vast archives house the largest collection of World War I and II propaganda posters in New England. Those posters will be key to the exhibit’s central theme. Using them, the museum will examine a phenomenon now foreign to those living in the modern era: the rationing of food, as well as how it was grown and consumed during the war.

Brick Store Executive Director Chris Farr said the museum will be soliciting contributions from local artists, who will be tapped to create modern propaganda posters in the bold style prevalent throughout the 1940s; in this way, past and present will be connected, highlighting hunger and food shortages among the 21st Century poor.

“The more you look at these posters, the more fascinating that era is,” said Farr, sifting through art in the museum’s archives.

For the first time, visitors’ experiences will break beyond the bounds of gallery walls. According to Assistant Director and Exhibit Curator Cynthia Walker, a Victory Garden will be installed in the museum’s courtyard, and staff will be working with master gardeners from the University of Maine Extension School to plan what is grown there, and how to do it successfully.

Food harvested from the garden will be donated to local pantries and food banks, a collaboration with area nonprofits that was inspired partly by the Brick Store’s successful involvement in several programs last year with the nearby Kennebunk Free Library.

“For me, it was a way of seeing how many things we could do with the theme, and really make it last throughout the year,” said Walker. The exhibit, once established, will survive until the waning weeks of 2014.

Registrar and Collections Manager Kathryn Hussey, who came of age in the World War II era, said that hunger seems to be a more pressing issue than it was in previous decades ”“ despite the food rationing that occurred during that time. Hussey and her classmates would typically sojourn to their homes for lunch, but anecdotally, she remembers that securing food was a less prevalent hardship.

“I don’t know what happened at home,” she said, “but the acquaintances I had at the time still had access to food.

“All churches have food pantries now. And we never had that before.”

In a way, the Victory Garden is a call to arms: A means of using history to improve the present.

To further salvage the personal histories of those who lived during the war, Walker said the museum will feature an oral history booth, which will allow community members to share their memories and family stories. A focus on technology is hardly new for the Brick Store, as interactive elements have started to permeate even its smaller exhibits, but the booth will serve to localize the theme of “Vitamin V,” and make it specially relevant to the Kennebunks and southern Maine.

Perhaps as never before, Farr, Walker and Hussey will be calling on the community to donate items. Kitchen utensils, farming tools and clothing are among the pieces they hope to acquire, as artifacts from the mid-20th Century are paradoxically harder to come by than those from the more distant past.

Those with items to lend or give are encouraged to contact the Brick Store Museum at 985-4802.

“As the community gives to us, we also hope to give back,” said Farr.

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.