Social Awareness
Family Resources on Generosity in Action
Lesson Topic
Students will learn about managing time and tackle a social problem such as preventing food insecurity. The students in the main video choose to spend their time helping solve a problem that faces student in their school.
Essential Question
How can social problems be addressed at the school or local community level?
Generosity in Action – Food Pantry
If this lesson was used in the classroom: Students considered the various career-related skills and positive effects of being involved in a service-learning project. In class students discussed how a group of students makes a difference by operating a food pantry at their school. In small groups students developed plans to deal with the problem of food insecurity in their local community.
Getting Ready for the Conversation
The video for this module features a group of students who operate a school-based, student operated food pantry. Students discuss how their work helps make their community a better place and how their work makes a difference for others. The students in the video are in charge of the entire operation, school faculty members serve only as advisors for the program.
Conversation notes:
Some people believe that adolescents are only interested in themselves, which is not true. In this video we meet students who started and operate a food program that serves their community. It should be noted that this project was started by a group of students who saw a need and figured out a way to improve a social problem.
DoSomething.org is a non-profit, youth-led organization that promotes causes and taking action by high school aged students:
https://www.dosomething.org/us
Feeding America provides information about starting and operating school-based food pantries:
https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/hunger-relief-programs/school-pantry
Food Corps provides ideas about food specific, student run programs in schools:
https://foodcorps.org/what-you-can-do/
Constructive Conversation Starters
The first item is for follow-up after viewing the lesson video and participating in class activities.
In the video, several students talked about why they were involved in the food pantry, what comments did you find interesting? Why? Do you think this is something your school should do? Why or why not?
Is food insecurity a problem in our community? How do you know? Why should we be concerned about food insecurity? Why is it important for you to learn about food insecurity?
Is there a need for a food security program based at your school? Why or why not? If there is a need, what would be the goals and next steps?
Even if food insecurity is not a concern in your community, it remains a serious problem in the US (if necessary, research the problem). What are some of the underlying causes of food insecurity? What do you think needs to be done? Why do you think your ideas would be effective?
School to Home Resources on Generosity in Action
Lesson Plan
Interactive Reflection > Open/Download Complete PDF Lesson
Student Leadership
The narrator says, “there’s something else about this food pantry, it was formed by the teenagers themselves”. What organizational activities do you think are needed in order to operate the food pantry? What do you imagine the students in the video could be doing instead of operating the food pantry?
Friends Helping Friends
One of the students Tristan says, “people that wouldn’t usually be my friends at school, but once you get to know them, they’re much better people”. How does taking time to work together for a common purpose help people feel connected?
What School Pantries Do
Take a look at the website from the Rural Health Information Hub. What roles would be necessary for students to take on to operate a food pantry in a school? What type of time commitments do you think would be necessary for success?
Learning to Manage Time Lowers Stress
This article from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation indicates that problems with time management can lead to stress. Look at the issues raised in the article. The students in the video seem to be able to relieve stress by working in the pantry. Why do you think that is?
Additional Reflection Questions > Open/Download PDF
