1. How many places to purchase food do you know about in your town or county?
__________________________________________________________

2. How many of those are places where you can purchase food already prepared—restaurant, fast food outlet, deli, convenience store etc.?

Number_________Where prepared _______________________________________

3. How many of the meals that you or your family eat at home in a week are primarily food not prepared at home?

Number_____Where prepared:

4. Where do you/does your family get the food that is prepared at home?

________from large, warehouse, or national chain supermarket (such as Wal-Mart, Target, Aldi’s, etc.)

________from mid-sized/ regional supermarket (such as Hy-Vee, Fareway)

________purchase some items from specialty food store (such as natural/health, organic, food coop/buying club), most items from supermarket

________buy about equally from supermarket and specialty store

________buy most food from specialty store

________buy locally produced food from farmers occasionally: direct from a farmer at the farm or delivered, you pick, farmer’s market, subscription farm (such as a CSA) etc.

________buy all or almost all of at least one large food category (such as produce or meat) locally produced directly from farmers, at farmer’s market, or through a subscription farm (such as a CSA)

________grow and/or preserve at least some your own food



Learning the situation:
Using Where do you shop
for food??


1. Use as a discussion starter on:
a. food sources in your community (what is there, pros and cons)
b. consumer patterns and choices ( effect of food sources on family dietaries and decisions or dietaries of elderly, children; food storage in homes, family budgets, distances traveled, food as entertainment, etc.)
c. types of food outlets, strengths and weaknesses of each

2. Combine it with
a. study about where food comes from
1. recommended reading: Food, Fuel and Freeways, and Apples to Apples both available on line at www.leopold.iastate.edu,
b. an "explore the store" or "explore the food" activity (using a local store or a common food with a number of ingredients such as pizza) to find out origins of common food items and check how far they have traveled to reach your community or your table
c. interdisciplinary projects in agriculture, economics, environmental studies or health to asses the effects of "food miles", and how food systems are constructed

3. Use a participatory workshop such as Weaving a Food System, (available from National Catholic Rural Life Conference, 4625 Beaver, Des Moines, IA 50313, ph. 515-270-2635) to better understand the conventional food system and possible alternatives

4. Research and discuss the pros and cons of local food systems in your area. Check with your local extension office for more information on the growing local food movement.