While much of folklore surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States may not be entirely accurate, most of us do gather with loved ones on the fourth Thursday each November to enjoy a meal and give thanks.  And like many other fall festivals around the world, ours started out and more or less continues to be a celebration of the harvest. 

Ours also happens to come on the heels of the November elections, and since millions of Americans spend Thanksgiving with relatives, and some 40 percent of extended families include people with opposing political views, you might be spending Thanksgiving with people you disagree with politically.  If you are a college student, that likelihood is even higher. 

If you want to engage in constructive political conversation at Thanksgiving dinner next week, you'll find some tips on how to do that in the article attached below. 

But if you’d rather steer clear of politics and focus on the original point of the holiday – which is to celebrate the harvest – then dive into one or two of the solutions journalism stories below about the incredibly innovative and truly fascinating ways that Americans (many of them young people) are continuing to improve upon this most basic of human activities – the growing and sharing of food.  

Then share what you learn with whoever is lucky enough to sit next to you at dinner next Thursday.  

1. Which stories did you pick to discuss at Thanksgiving dinner?  Why?  
2. Was the innovation in the story addressing an issue you are interested in or passionate about, such as health, food security, animal rights? 
3. Since these stories are all solutions journalism stories (that is, they focus on a response to a social or environmental problem rather than just the problem itself), did that make it more interesting or easier to discuss than if the story had focused only on the problem?  If so, why? 
4. Did you have a conversation with someone you might not have chatted with otherwise?  Who? Why? 
5. Tweet a photo of your dinner conversation to @TeamSolutionsU and tag us on your Instagram post at @SolutionsU.