Feed My Starving Children-Developing Empathy

As a reading reward incentive top readers at Goodrich School were invited to attend a field trip to Feed My Starving Children in Aurora, IL. This organization is a non-profit that provides specialty hand packed meals to feed malnourished children in over seventy countries. The food is distributed to orphanages, clinics, schools and other feeding programs with the goal of  breaking  the cycle of poverty for these children. This organization relies exclusively on a volunteers to pack the food that is sent.

 

Students in grades one through six, parent and staff volunteers joined groups from other organizations to help pack, seal and box the food. They worked in teams to measure and weigh the food to make sure that they were the correct mix of nutrients and weight to feed a family. At the end of two hours of packing the students and others packed a total of 18,576 meals. That was enough food to feed 51 families for a year! The cost of the food packed was $4,086.72. The food costs are covered through donations to the organization and many of our students and families pitched in to help!

  

While the students felt that the packing the food was fun, the bigger take away was their understanding that not all people have enough food to eat. When students are exposed to an experience like this it helps them to develop empathy for others. That compassion allows them to put themselves in another persons shoes. These types of experiences can help students and staff to build a more caring school community where others' feelings and individuality are respected.