MIDDLEBURY -- About once a month, a group of Middlebury community leaders get together to talk about the economy.

And that's really about it. There's no agenda or list of topics to address or goals they've outlined.

But Jeff Burbrink, Purdue's Elkhart County Extension Director, said having a regular conversation without guidelines has helped the Middlebury Area Recovery Committee (MARC) solve problems and fill gaps between the service agencies.

He called it a group without a mission, but then added that perhaps the mission is simply communication.

"They basically are getting people to talk and share and learn what each other are doing," Burbrink said. "And it does have some value."

The idea came to Burbrink from a group of Nappanee leaders that started meeting after tornadoes hit the area a few years ago. The Northern Indiana Tornado Relief Organization was formed to connect community leaders so they could get to know each other as resources and share their problems and experiences, in case any other members happened to have a solution.

Burbrink knew of NITRO because the extension office gave agricultural advice to people whose farms had been destroyed.

NITRO was later revived under a new name, the Wakarusa Economic Recovery Committee, so community leaders could meet to discuss the community's needs in the recession.

Burbrink saw the good that came out of WERC and wanted to bring the idea to Middlebury. So, he e-mailed officials, church leaders and directors of service agencies. The group has met about once a month since March.

At a meeting this week, members opened with general discussion about the economic climate.

"Any feel for what's coming down the pipe?" Burbrink asked. "Crystal ball?"

Then people took turns reporting what their organizations were doing related to the recession. Members offered advice and support for each other and brainstormed a collaborative service project they'd like to start.

Pam Bingaman, director of the Middlebury Community Food Pantry, said attending local meetings has helped her learn where to send her clients for their other needs.

She said people who came to the food pantry were asking her where to go for help with utility bills and rent, for example, and she didn't know what to tell them.

"They were coming in with just huge burdens," Bingaman said. "My question was, 'Where do I send all these people?'"

Bingaman said she met the people who could provide these other services through MARC, and that it serves as a support group.

She's also been able to find resources for people in her own family who are dealing with unemployment.

Burbrink said he isn't sure whether the group will continue to meet once unemployment numbers get back to normal, but he said even if it doesn't, the connections are already made. He said it might continue in a different format.

"Every community needs to find a way to talk within itself," Burbrink said.