Youth Led Dinner Conversations: A Foundation for Civic Engagement

Based on research showing that families who eat dinner together are more likely to be engaged civically in their communities, one elementary school started a program where students would bring home a recipe and ingredients for biscuits and a set of dinner table discussion questions.

The program was created as a vehicle for building and maintaining community connections and part of a countywide initiative to increase family dinners and dinner conversations. The project gained widespread support from several community organizations, local government, the school district, and faith-based groups. The project also provided a mentorship opportunity as older students were able to partner with younger ones by aiding them with math for the recipes and brainstorming questions,
The students were also given a set of ingredients and questions to give to a neighbor.

To encourage students to be active in their communities, a school district started a program where students would bring home a recipe and ingredients for biscuits, and a set of discussion questions to encourage the students to communicate with their families.