 Kids Cut Out Hunger for Large
Groups (25+ participants)
Several methods have
been successful in teaching this program to large groups, like Vacation Bible
Schools or large school field trips. Specifically:
- Rather than having each child shop with their individual
lists, leaders can request a small donation from each child (such as $2) and pool
the funds to make one large purchase, using the store ads for your store to identify the best sale items that week.
- Contact the store manager a few days in advance to place a special
order for the specific items and request that they be held. Ask that the store
coordinate a few stops for a store tour.
- Take the children for a field trip to the store, breaking the
large group into smaller groups of 20 (no more than 80 children total). Children
can be rotated through stations at 10 minute intervals.
- One station can be the "Shopping Station",
ideally located in the aisle with the canned meat and vegetables. A Leader can
explain to children the basic facts of hunger in our community, what a food pantry
is, how many families they serve a day, and what kinds of items we need to buy
for charity (look at the Donate Food page for details,
and contact your local food pantry director
for specific facts about your community's needs).
- If the group is too large to take to the store (such as an entire
Vacation Bible School), the lesson listed above (#4) can be given at the school
location, money can be collected, and volunteer parents can go buy the food. Report
back to the children how many families they fed with their donations (divide the
total number of food items--the number is at the bottom of the grocery store receipt--by
15, which is the average number of items given to a food pantry client). This
fact makes it easier for children to comprehend the impact they are making in
helping real people.
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