Building Communities through Food: Strengthening Communication, Families, and Social Capital examines the power of food as a communicative tool to bring people of diverse backgrounds together. David F. Purnell argues that food enables people to look past their differences and focus on their similarities, thus creating a stronger sense of community via the sharing of a meal. The preparation, presentation, and ingredients of meals reflect a concrete representation of our individual identities and offer others an opportunity to share and take part in those identities. Scholars with an interest in family communication, interpersonal communication, and sociology will find this book especially useful.