General Educational Resources
Below are curricula and supplemental materials for teaching community members of all ages about the causes and consequences of hunger. While a fact-based understanding of this problem is a key to inspiring action, synagogues should be sure to couple these secular materials with Jewish resources about hunger, poverty, and/or general social justice. To obtain materials, or for information on placing orders, contact us at tzedekresources@jcrcboston.org or 617-457-8600.
Curricula
- Activities Handbook, Hunger Banquet Planning Kit, a publication of Oxfam America, is one of the most popular ‘Fast for a World Harvest’ activities, engaging participants in a dramatization of the unequal distribution of the world’s resources and wealth. It is available at http://www.oxfamamerica.org/publications/art1104.html.
- Food for Thought: A Hunger Curriculum for Learning and Community Service raises awareness about historic and current political, economic, and social causes of hunger. Students learn about the importance of nutrition and why some people are unable to provide themselves with adequate nutrition. There are four separate curricula for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12, each of which includes several lessons and a community service project. This program would be most effective in a full time classroom but could be adopted for religious schools and after-school programs. This curriculum is produced by Project Bread, and available at http://www.projectbread.org/foodthought.html.
- Kids Can Make a Difference, an educational program for middle and high school age students, focuses on providing background on world hunger and inspiring children to make a difference. There are 25 lesson plans, a teacher’s guide and a newsletter, as well as a website with additional supplemental materials. This curriculum is produced by World Hunger Year, and can be ordered online at http://www.kidscanmakeadifference.org/index.htm.
- Know Hunger: Challenging Youth to be Leaders in the Fight Against Hunger teaches middle and high school students about the causes and effects of hunger in America. Students learn about the role that charities have in the fight against hunger and what youth can do to help solve the problem. This curriculum is divided into six units including readings, discussion questions, and activities that can be completed in class. The Know Hunger website also includes supplemental resources for students and educators. A 600 page PDF file of this curriculum is available online at http://www.knowhunger.org.
Resources and Supplemental Materials
The following resources can serve as the basis of discussion in a group of adults or mature teens, while a teacher of younger students can also use this material to form a lesson plan. A group leader can alert participants to these resources as ways to learn more about hunger.
- America’s Second Harvest is a domestic hunger relief organization that collects donations from food producers and manufacturers to be distributed to a national network of food banks. The website has seven informational sheets about different populations that suffer from hunger, and a 12-page executive summary of the Hunger in America 2001 study. http://www.secondharvest.org
- The Community Food Security Coalition is a group that builds safety nets for those with food insecurity by helping them to work for self-sufficiency. This group focuses on supporting local, family based farming, and promoting the availability of nutritional, fresh produce. http://www.foodsecurity.org
- Hunger in America is a 12-page summary of empirical information on hunger in eastern Massachusetts, and would be useful in raising participants’ awareness of hunger in their communities. It is produced by the Greater Boston Food Bank, a food donation clearing house and volunteer network, and can be accessed online at http://www.gbfb.org/ma_hunger_facts.htm.
- Project Bread is a hunger-relief organization that aims to stop hunger, in part by raising awareness of the problem. Their projects include the Walk for Hunger and the Massachusetts Child Hunger Initiative. The site has many fact sheets and white pages about local hunger that are adaptable for students of most ages at http://www.projectbread.org.
- Together We Can; A What, Why and How Handbook for Working to End Hunger in Your Community is a 35-page handbook produced by the US Department of Agriculture. It has suggestions and step-by-step guides for ways that groups and individuals can combat hunger. http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsec/FILES/wecan.pdf
Research Organizations
There are several devoted to gaining knowledge and disseminating information about hunger. These centers publish articles and fact sheets related to the political, social and economic issues surrounding hunger.
