MARQUETTE – What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing. It just let out a little wine.

That’s one of the jokes included on 500 sets of placemats being distributed to families throughout Marquette County this spring. Whether family members groan or giggle together over the joke, it will have served its purpose of getting family members to connect with one another around mealtime.

The placemats are part of an initiative called “Plate It Forward.” In addition to jokes, the mats feature games, puzzles and other conversation starters designed to promote positive family communication. When families have used the placemats, which are laminated, come six to a set and include washable markers, they’re asked to “plate it forward,” by handing their set off to another family so they can have fun together too.

Then those families plate it forward and on it goes.

Plate It Forward is the brainchild of Youth Connections Network, a consortium of youth-serving organizations in Marquette County finding ways to work together to strengthen the youth environment with a focus on improving outcomes for vulnerable youth.

The network uses the framework of 40 Developmental Assets in its work. “Assets” are internal or environmental resources that young people need to develop in healthy, positive ways.

Research from Search Institute in Minneapolis shows the more Assets young people have, the less likely they are to participate in risky behaviors such as substance abuse and violence and the more likely they are to participate in thriving behaviors such as maintaining good health through nutrition and exercise and resisting negative peer pressure.

The Asset of “Positive Family Communication” is one that is low in Marquette County. The 2014 Profiles of Student Life: Attitudes and Behaviors survey measured the level of Assets in more than 1,400 8th, 10th and 12th graders in Marquette County.

Only 29 percent of the youth reported they communicate positively with their parents and are willing to seek advice and counsel from them.

“We held focus groups with youth from around the county to learn more about the challenges and barriers they face,” said Network Co-facilitator Sarah Derwin of the Marquette County Health Department. “One thing that came up time and again was their desire for family mealtime.”

Those youth whose families shared mealtimes agreed it had a positive impact on them. Those who didn’t experience family meals felt they were missing out on something important.

“Based on the survey results, additional research on the benefits of family mealtime and what we heard in the focus groups, we developed a media campaign to promote mealtime as an ideal time to build positive family communication,” Derwin said. “Plate It Forward is part of that.”

The campaign also includes public service announcements on TV and radio, posters, fliers and a lively social media presence. Families are encouraged to go to Plate It Forward on Facebook or Twitter.

“We hope that when families enjoy the placemats, they’ll post a comment or tweet letting us know how they liked them or maybe a little about the family conversations they started,” said Great Lakes Center for Youth Development Associate Linda Remsburg, also a co-facilitator of the network.

“It will be fun to see how this spreads.”

Members of Youth Connections Network will distribute the placemats, posters and fliers to families. A limited number are also available at Great Lakes Center for Youth Development, 712 Chippewa Square, Suite 200 in Marquette, phone 906-228-8919 or at Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes in the Westwood Mall, 920-955-3438. Please call ahead to confirm availability.

Families can find more conversation starters and tips on building positive family communication by visiting the Youth Connections section of Great Lakes Center for Youth Development’s website, glcyd.org/youthconnections.

The campaign has been well received by community organizations, with several having stepped up to fund it. Superior Health Foundation has funded the printing and lamination of the placemats. Great Start Collaborative of Marquette and Alger Counties is providing the markers. Great Lakes Center for Youth Development has provided the bulk of the funding for the media campaign and has worked closely with La Dolce Video & Design, which has donated significant time and resources to design and produce materials for the campaign. Tadych’s Econofoods of Marquette has provided bags to package the sets.

“This is truly a community effort for families to enjoy,” Remsburg said. “We hope Marquette County and the surrounding area become known as the place where families eat together.”