5 Easy Ways Teens Can Help Fight Hunger
To so many of us, food is a given. Just like we know the sun will rise in the morning, we know that someone (likely our mom or dad) has made sure we have breakfast food in the house, lunch money or a packed lunch for school, and dinner in the evening. But for many, this is not a fact of life.
This month's VoiceBox focused on childhood hunger in America. By now you may have finished your creative social art project and are looking for something else to do to #makearipple. Here are five easy DIY projects that you can do to help fight hunger. If you're up for it, invite some friends to join you. The more the merrier (and the bigger the ripple).
HANDY SNACK BAGS
One way we can help fight hunger is to make snack bags. These can be used in many different ways. You can donate them to a homeless shelter, your church, or another organization that has the resources to give them to those who need them.
Another great idea is to keep them in your car, or your parent's car, for those times you see someone who might be hungry. You can also make a project out of it, and head out into your community to specifically hand out snack bags to those who might need them. When you're out handing out snack bags, look people in their eyes and smile. For those living on the streets, it's easy to feel invisible. Having a meaningful connection with another person, even if it's short, can go a really long way. Whatever you decide, always keep your safety a priority, and never approach a stranger alone.
These snack bags don't need to be fancy. A simple zip lock bag and some store-bought goodies are all you need. Here are a few ideas for items to include in your snack bags:
bottled water or sports drinks
granola bars
jerky
a packet of nuts
individually packaged peanut butter
crackers
fruit cups (with a plastic spoon or spork)
chapstick
hand wipes/baby wipes
a new pair of socks
a toothbrush and mini tube of toothpaste
tissues
The possibilities aren't quite endless, but there sure are a lot of them!
HOST A CANNED FOOD DRIVE
There's a reason why many organizations host food drives — it works! A great way to make it a little more fun is by making it a friendly competition between teams of people, building large sculptures with donated cans.
Our friends at CANSTRUCTION® do a great job of organizing these events. Head on over to the Junior Events section of their website for more information. There is a fee for licensing an event, so be sure to talk to your parent first.
Don't have the resources to put on a licensed CANSTRUCTION® event? That's O.K. Host your neighborhood canned food drive, but before you deliver them to your local food pantry, construct a sculpture out of your collected donations at home. Snap a pic and Instagram it with #makearipple. We'd love to see your home-made sculptures!
LITTLE FREE PANTRY
Like the neighborhood Little Free Library, but with food. Stock the pantry with canned food items — be sure the cans are the ones with the easy lift tabs! And be sure to attach a plastic spoon or spork. You can also include items like crackers, water, baby wipes and chapstick, similar to the suggestions for snack bags, above.
Don't have the resources to build a little free pantry? Consider placing these cans (with their plasticware) in inconspicuous places around town. We've seen them in planters, near park benches, and on outside window sills.
HOST AN AWARENESS DINNER
A great way to create awareness around the importance of eliminating childhood hunger in America is to host a small party. Invite a few of your friends over for a soup dinner, using your VoiceBox creative social action project for inspiration. For a detailed how-to, visit our How to Host a Dinner to Fight Hunger post.
TAKE NOTICE
We love this Norwegian ad that went viral in June. It's a great example of how the simplicity of noticing and sharing can make a small, but meaningful ripple:
It was made by a creative team called Kitchen Leo Burnett for the Norwegian government to encourage people to foster children, and was first posted to the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs's Facebook page.
By now you know that one in five children in America are food insecure. That's a staggering number! Think about your school, your friends, your community. Where do you see hunger? Many times hunger can be invisible. But if we teach ourselves to be a little more observant, we can help people in our communities simply by sharing.
There are so many ways that we all can help to fight childhood hunger in America. These are just five. What are some projects you have done? Do you have ideas to add to our list? We'd love for you to share your stories in the comments below.
