Discovering the Food System Step 2: Learning from People in the Food System

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Printer-friendly .pdf version of this page Summary This step in the Discovering the Food System project provides the tools and guidelines we will need to identify people in the food system and to decide who best to interview, and then how best to set up the interview. Having the opportunity to interview people with first-hand experience can provide a better understanding of the food system. Of course, we are all in the food system because we all eat! But here we focus on those community members who really make the food system happen. The first step in planning to conduct a person-to-person interview is to identify people in the community who are involved in the food system in some way and to explore how they are involved. Then you can make choices about who specifically to interview. The "Inquiring Minds List" from Lesson 2 of Section 1 will be useful for this lesson because it is important to think about people in terms of their particular part or function in the entire food system. Because the food system is complex there are a great number of people and varied jobs to be identified. It is important not to limit our exploration of who is in the food system. Our interview can be as easy as briefly asking some questions of a school lunch server, or as complex as interviewing grocery store owners, food processors, farmers, chefs and restaurant personnel. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this lesson, we should be able to: Identify at least one member of our community involved in the food system. Consider how and where we will meet with this person to interview him or her. Describe 2-3 ways to conduct personal interviews. Describe 2 interview settings. Key Concepts Food System Interview Close-ended questions Open-ended questions Activities See Printer-friendly .pdf version of this lesson for complete actvities, background information, handouts, etc. Putting people in the Food System Identifying people in the Food System Developing the interview topics Deciding how to interview Preparing for the interview Food for Thought Journal Websites used in this lesson: U.S. Census Bureau, State & County QuickFacts