Changing the World…. One Project at a Time: Fighting Hunger
EA/UNCW Think-Care-Act Project Partnership.
EA/UNCW Think-Care-Act Project Partnership.
Introduction:
Dr. Elizabeth O. Crawford, an education
professor at University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Susan Gelber Cannon,
a middle school teacher, author, and developer of Think-Care-Act Projects, are
pleased to present our second collaborative year of sharing
Think-Care-Act-Projects [TCAP]. Our EA/UNCW Think-Care-Act Project Partnership allows Episcopal Academy sixth
graders and Dr. Crawford’s senior UNCW pre-service education majors to consider
personal qualities and talents, identify passions for social change, and act to
change the world for the better. Through
video sessions, my students and those
of Dr. Crawford have inspired and encouraged each other to make a
difference.
Below, and for previous four blog posts, you will read
future teachers’ guest blogs about their TCAPs, with links for research and
teaching suggestions. Happy reading and
thinking, caring, and acting!—Sue Cannon
Fighting Hunger: A
Look Into The Problem Of World Hunger
Think-Care-Act
Project by Chelsea Anderson
and Jenna DeHart
University of North
Carolina at Wilmington, May 2016
Food
is one of the major necessities needed for life. Without food, individuals do
not have the nutrition needed to concentrate and focus, or the energy needed
for survival. Without food, there is no living. For our Think-Care-Act Project we researched why there are so many people
hungry across the globe and how educators can teach about this world issue to
their students and get them to become young solutionaries
to this pressing problem.
Causes of Hunger
The
primary cause of hunger is poverty. Individuals living in poverty often cannot
afford healthy foods or have access to transportation to get to the food. Lacking
empowerment and resources to escape it, individuals find it hard to escape
poverty (World Food Programme, 2016). In developing farming countries, for
example, farmers cannot afford seeds to plant crops to feed their families
(World Food Programme, 2016). The hungry usually do not have access to other
components of life such as education, water, and land, and therefore the cycle
of hunger is not broken easily.
The
world has stores of 2.9 trillion pounds of food, enough to feed every
individual in all nations twice. However,
there is no explanation of where all of this food is going, considering how many
people are hungry (Royte, 2016). In developing countries, much food is lost
because there are no sturdy roads, adequate refrigeration, or steady climates
to keep the food fresh. In developed nations, however, there is a different
story. Restaurants serve too much food, individuals forget about leftovers in
the refrigerator, and food is being thrown out before the expiration date
(Royte, 2016). Food is wasted in spite of
the fact that hunger exists.
Teaching about World Hunger
The
first action step that should be taken when it comes to addressing world hunger
is education. Students, especially, do not realize how big of an issue hunger
is unless it impacts them directly or they are told about it. Students will
develop a personal interest in the problem if they become passionate about
becoming solutionaries toward the
issue. It is important to show students the issue at hand either through
personal narratives, children’s literature, web resources, or videos. It is also
necessary to show students other children who are taking action on the same
problem and becoming a solutionary.
This will inspire students to see that age has nothing to do with being able to
take a stand on an issue. A lesson on this issue should include having students
come up with solutions on what they and their families can do to reduce the
number of hungry people, starting in their own communities.
Our Action Plans
Working
as a pair, we focused our actions differently. Jenna placed more of an emphasis
on education. She taught a lesson to third grade students to show them that hunger
is a prominent issue affecting individuals and families around the world and
locally. Jenna and the class then came up with solutions that they can do
individually or with their families to help with the problem. 
Chelsea’s
approach was geared towards supporting global organizations that focus on
finding innovative solutions to the problem of world hunger. She directed a
youth group with middle and high school youth in Morganton, North Carolina in
their participation in World Vision’s “30-Hour Famine.” Chelsea helped organize
and promote the youth group’s participation in the program and help them
receive sponsors as they fasted for thirty hours and worked together by
participating in team-building games and simulations of how people must survive
when they must support themselves when they are hungry and living in
impoverished areas. She was able to Skype in with the youth group throughout the
thirty hours to support and encourage them for their participation.
Chelsea
noted how many of the students shared how excited they were to be able to make
an impact on the world through their participation. They now had a greater outlook on what some people
have to deal with and do to survive in the world. She shared that the youth
group raised over $400 to support World Vision and also donated over 100 pounds
of food to their local soup kitchen.
Teaching Resources and References
Information on Think-Care-Act Projects:
Seven great lessons to teach kids about
hunger and food insecurity. (2013, September 10). Retrieved from http://kidworldcitizen.org/2013/09/09/great-lessons-teach-kids-about-hunger-food-insecurity/
Milway,
K. S., & Fernandes, E. (2008). one hen:
how one small loan made a big
difference. Toronto: Kids Can
Press.
Suggested Books. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.kidscanmakeadifference.org/program-description
Top 10 books to help kids understand
hunger - Lasso the Moon. (2012, September 13).
Retrieved from Royte, E. (2016,
March 01). http://letslassothemoon.com/2012/09/13/book-on-hunger/
How
'ugly' fruits and vegetables can help solve world hunger.
10
ways to stop world hunger. (2013, October 02). Retrieved from
What
causes hunger? | WFP | United Nations World Food Programme - Fighting Hunger
Worldwide. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.wfp.org/hunger/causes
