UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- A new planning guide from Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will help people examine their community's food supply through public forums.

The "Edible Connections Planning Guide" provides a step-by-step framework for planning and conducting a food communications forum, says Joan Thomson, associate professor of rural sociology and project director.

The first "Edible Connections" forum, held in Philadelphia in 1998, brought together food producers, manufacturers, media representatives, marketers and consumer and environmental advocates to raise issues surrounding the food system in southeastern Pennsylvania. The goal, Thomson says, was to help stakeholders understand and influence their food systems.

"Food communications forums can help people talk about what is important to them on a community level," Thomson explains. "For instance, do they want more foods that are locally grown and marketed? How can they use open space or expand their community's economic base by including diversified agriculture and value-added food processing?"

Local advocates can use the packet to organize forums in their regions, Thomson says. "These forums usually are sponsored by a coalition of organizations involved in the local food system, such as farmers' markets or food banks, by community organizations like the League of Women Voters or Rotary, or by consumer advocates who have a concern about how food is made available to people within their community. They want to make sure that everyone has access to high-quality food that meets nutritional and cultural needs."

The planning guide packet includes a 40-page booklet and a videotape. The booklet covers developing, planning and conducting the forum, and evaluating the results. The booklet outlines the six essential elements of a forum:

• Setting the Table -- establishes the goals and issues to be addressed.
• Food as Lifestyle -- considers food as central to diet and health, ethnic diversity, cultural rituals and more.
• Food as Livelihood -- addresses the farmers, marketers, manufacturers and others for whom food is a way of earning a living.
• Food as Connection -- provides examples of food's contribution to community-building by creating social and economic capital.
• Town Meeting -- gives community attendees an opportunity to discuss possible solutions and improvements that will work for their community.
• Celebration of Regional Food -- allows attendees to forge new alliances and connections, and draws attention to the wealth of edible resources that exist in any community.

"The booklet will help people ensure that the forum involves key people and discusses topics that are locally important," Thomson says. "You want the total community to participate, including growers, consumers and the media. It's through the media -- radio, newspapers and TV -- that most people learn about topics that affect their lives and communities."

The twelve-minute videotape presents excerpts from previous forums and comments from people who have conducted forums in Pennsylvania communities.

The packet, "Edible Connections: Changing the Way We Talk About Food, Farm and Community," is available for $30 from the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Distribution Center. For ordering information, call 814-865-6713. Credit card orders can be placed by calling toll-free (877) 345-0691.

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EDITORS: Joan Thomson can be reached at 814-863-3825.

Contacts: Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-865-1068 fax