"We just completed our 'Food Factor' study of leading food trends—and discovered that people are cooking more. Of course, this trend is driven by the economy," says Nancy Wall Hopkins, deputy editor of food and entertaining at Better Homes and Gardens. "People are also very concerned about the cost of groceries. They're spending $105 week on groceries per week on average, which is $34 higher than two years ago because prices went out. Even so, they're still entertaining up to two times a month," she shares. "But they're having friends over for simpler things when they do—they're serving soups and keeping things casual and low-key. It's all about being more personal and sharing."

In addition: "Coupon usage is way up—whether it's from Sunday supplements or packaging. Related to packaging, people are also using more recipes printed on packages. On a different note, consumers continue to be concerned about health and prevention," says Hopkins.

Her advice in general is for PR practitioners to tie to these trends and push the value proposition of client products whenever pitching epicurean media. "Great PR people are priceless—and they're usually the ones who are aware of trends like these," says Hopkins. She should know. She came to media work from PR, where she was a senior account executive at Edelman in Chicago. She repped clients like Butterball, and now jokingly refers to herself as a former "meat queen" of the food and beverage communications practice. Her additional tips:

• Leave the office—do more desksides. "When I was in PR, I would go do desksides and visit editors all the time. I know it's a tough job, but there really is no substitute for building relationships face to face," says Hopkins. "A lot of the independents who left big agencies really seem to get this, and get out of the office more," she says.

• Think exclusives —not blanket pitches and product mailers. "I hate to say it, but entry-level PR people really don't seem to get it. I'd like to wring a few necks because most of the outreach really is mediocre," Hopkins continues. "For example, a big faux pas is sending a big box of cereal and calling two days later to see if I got it. I get about 60 PR samples a week—we have a huge sample room. I'm not going to go check." Far more important—and imminently more productive than billing hours for follow-up calls—is crafting and negotiating exclusives. "We all want exclusivity. Play that card and we'll remember you when you end up sending product later," she says.

Again, "It's all about the relationship," Hopkins stresses. "The best PR people talk to me before pitching me to see what's new with me and to ask me what's going on. They then tailor ideas to me that no one else is getting. That's how you build trust with us."

• Be a resource—media budgets are being cut. "In my world, budgets are being cut," Hopkins confirms. "So we can't do big productions. We have the same number of pages with less of a budget, so we're really looking for ideas and smart PR people can help," she says. Similarly, "I am traveling less because of these cuts. I can't get to all the food shows as a result. That means I really rely on my trusted PR people to help me. For example, they can give me updates and basically report on some of the bigger developments [beyond their clients] going on at a show like the Fancy Food Show. That's a huge help and it helps build that relationship," says Hopkins.