Student Contributor -A. Patterson
The Mead Food Bank provides assistance to families and individuals living within the boundaries of the Mead School District with food and clothing. In order to fulfill the mission the food bank operates to supply food, clothing and referrals to persons in need living within the service area. Work in conjunction with other agencies, churches and other organizations to serve the surrounding people. It operates as a volunteer nonprofit agency, obtaining the majority of its support and donations from the community.
This organization makes sure that students in the Mead School District have food when they wake up in the morning and when they go home after school. The Mead Food Bank takes donations of food, clothing, and other personal items that are needed for everyday living needs. As a teacher, we see all different backgrounds from all different students. When we donate to an organization, we can give a family what they may need to survive without a hand out. There are resources like the Mead Food Bank for families to use so that they can receive their basic human needs without asking for anything. Everything that is donated to this organization is from those who want to give back to one or more persons or families in need. They are able to accept food and donations from local grocers and other food vendors. They are also able to accept food from Truckers with certain rejected items and are available 6 days a week with a little notice. The Mead food Bank provides assistance to families and individuals living within the boundaries of the Mead School District with food and clothing. It is important to give back to those students in our classrooms who may have families who struggle putting food on the table and having wearable school clothing. Every item helps. Learn how to get help, how you can help, and ways to donate today!
Teachers and students can help raise a meal for a family, or donate some of their old clothing items that they may no longer want or fit into. It only takes a few food items to feed a family, so as a class, we can help multiple families by simply donating small food items and clothing a couple times a year. For a civic engagement project, my first graders and I put together a basket full of food items for a Thanksgiving meal to a family in need. I related this back to our social studies unit of giving back to the community and being good citizens. One way to get students to participate is to have an ending goal that they choose. That way, when they reach a goal it can be so much more impactful rather than the teacher coming up with it. Once the goal is met and the students see their hard work and determination come together, they will be excited about doing it again in the future. By creating class goals, seeing the end result, talking about where the food is going, and relating this back to the content learned in class, we become our own small helpful community in the classroom.
