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 “Steps in the Food System 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
Multiple-choice questions “Getting to the Core”
Interviewing in the Food System
If you had the chance to talk with an apple grower, what questions would you like to ask? What questions do you think a grower would like to answer? What kinds of questions might require a tactful approach?
These are all things to think about when preparing to interview someone, particularly a person you do not know.
In general, an interview should contain a variety of questions:
easy-to-answer questions, thought-provoking questions, questions with long answers, questions with short answers, questions that are
demanding, and questions that are fun. In addition, the interviewer can choose different formats of questions to help keep the conversation interesting. Two commonly used formats are open-ended questions and multiple-choice questions. Some examples from both types of formats are shown below.
Open-ended questions:
1) How long have you been farming and have you always grown apples?
2) What varieties of apples do you grow and what are they usually used for?
3) To whom do you sell apples?
4) How long does it take for a tree to begin to produce fruit, and how many years is a tree harvested before it is replaced?
5) What is your favorite variety of apple and why?
Multiple-choice questions:
a) It has become more difficult for apple growers to earn a profit during your lifetime.
1 – Strongly agree 2 – Agree 3 – No opinion 4 – Disagree 5 – Strongly disagree
b) An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
1 – Strongly agree 2 – Agree 3 – No opinion 4 – Disagree 5 – Strongly disagree
c) Imported apples and apple products are a major source of competition for your business.
1 – Strongly agree 2 – Agree 3 – No opinion 4 – Disagree 5 – Strongly disagree
d) Agriculture would benefit if more young people considered a career in farming.
1 – Strongly agree 2 – Agree 3 – No opinion 4 – Disagree 5 – Strongly disagree
e) Perennial crops like apples are good for the environment and satisfying to grow.
1 – Strongly agree 2 – Agree 3 – No opinion 4 – Disagree 5 – Strongly disagree
Bonus Question:
Cider is nectar from the gods. Everyone should drink it.
1 – Strongly agree 2 – Agree 3 – No opinion 4 – Disagree 5 – Strongly disagree
Activities
• 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 Going Further
Background
Activity 1: Putting people in the Food System Summary
Before we can identify whom we want to interview, we need to start to identify what types of jobs the people who work in different parts of the food system hold.
Materials
• “Steps in the Food System List” from Lesson 2, Section 1
• Paper and pens/pencils
• Telephone directory (optional)
Before Class
Review the parts of the food system as needed and prepare photocopies if necessary.
Class itself
• Name the different parts of the food system. You can refer to the “Steps in the Food System List” from Lesson 2, Section 1.
• Divide your paper in to one column for each part of the food system. You will probably want to spread this onto more than one piece of paper.
• Briefly consider or discuss the different jobs that could be related to each part of the food system. Some may fall under more than one column. For example, a farmer grows food but also harvests it. A store manager may store as well as retail food.
• Set your lists aside for a few minutes, then return to them. Is anything missing? Add to the lists until you are satisfied you have exhausted all possibilities. The yellow pages from a telephone directory may give you some ideas as well.