This winter, I presented the idea of food insecurity to many classrooms in anticipation of the 2nd Annual Humble Lunch. The Humble Lunch was a way to reflect on the ways food can bring us all together, the beautiful food choices we have available to us each day, and the fact that not everyone in our community has full access to food or to healthy food. The difference between the cost of preparing this meal and the cost of preparing a fully serviced OES lunch was donated to Neighborhood House Food Box, an organization serving SW Portland, to support their efforts to feed those experiencing food insecurity in our community. With every $1 donation, The Food Box can buy 4 lbs of food from the Oregon Food Bank to then give to their clients.
When speaking with 2nd graders about this topic, they generated questions and statements that that showed their hearts for those experiencing food insecurity: Food is more than just the taste. What does food mean to you? Some families live without enough food each day. What can you do to help food insecurity in Portland?
That last question, in particular, seemed to stick with a few students. Second Grader Miller B. started asking her parents at home what she could do to help neighbors who needed help accessing food. After several conversations, Miller decided she would like to participate in the SWHope 5K and Fun Run, a race to benefit Neighborhood House’s Food Box. Many other Second Graders and the Second Grade OES Brownie Troop got excited to join in the effort, and they spread the word, made posters, gave a chapel announcement, and encouraged our community to run alongside them.
On a cold and windy Saturday morning, 18 students, siblings, and parents from OES ran to address food insecurity! With their participation in the SWHope 5K and Fun Run, Neighborhood House can purchase at least 720 lbs of food!
Thank you for this wonderful example of extending Service Learning beyond the classroom.
Look for more information to come on our 5th Graders’ efforts to support Neighborhood House Food Box through our annual food drive, Project Second Wind, which starts this week!
OES Lower School Service Learning 