71% of the people we serve live in poverty. Nearly half of them have had to choose between buying food and paying for utilities, rent, mortgage or medical care.
Future Voters against Hunger
The government plays a critical role in partnering with Food Banks to end hunger. Each year the state of Massachusetts allocates money to Food Banks, who in turn purchase over 2 million pounds of foods to feed families and individuals in our region.
Help us preserve this funding by taking part in our Postcard Project his April. For this campaign, students from across Western Massachusetts will design postcards that illustrate the importance of food banks and the impact of hunger in the community. (Read more about The Food Bank’s policy priorities here.)
As the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate consider, amend and finalize the budget, we’re asking students to participate in an art and advocacy Postcard Project. By having students create postcards illustrating why hunger is an important issue, together we’ll deliver a powerful message to legislators.
With the rising cost of food, record levels of unemployment and stagnant wages, nearly 30% more people have relied on Food Banks in the past year. Kids have a unique voice in the issue. Youth 18 and under are the largest demographic affected by hunger in the United States.
There are nearly 466 schools serving students ages 6 to 18 across Western Massachusetts. Imagine the power if one in every ten schools wrote to their legislators.
You can REGISTER here to sign up your class to participate.
Here’s how it works:
- REGISTER here to sign up your class. We’ll send you blank postcards in the mail.
- Use the educational materials below (video clips, fact sheets) to TALK about the issue of hunger with your class.
- Have students DESIGN or WRITE a message to their representative and senator. Students can draw pictures, write poems, make collages, or use other forms of media to illustrate why hunger is a concern to them and why it is important to fight hunger in their communities.
- SEND all the postcards you’ve made to The Food Bank of Western Mass. by April 30th. *
- We’ll scan the images to SHARE with a wider audience (with your permission) on the Food Bank website and deliver the postcards to your legislators when we visit them this spring.
*If you do not have the approval by your school leader for your students to partake in an advocacy project that involves a public policy issue, there are other ways participate! Simply post the cards to a bulletin board to raise awareness about hunger within your school. Send us a photo of the board so we can acknowledge your students for their participation.
Students who submit a card will be entered into a raffle for a class pizza party.
All schools are welcome to schedule a tour of our facilities at any time. If you’d like someone from The Food Bank to visit your classroom as part of this project, call 413.247.9738 x114.
MATERIALS FOR GETTING STARTED:
Handout: How a Bill Gets Passed
Map: Who is my Representative?
Link: Massachusetts legislators by zip code
Online quiz: Test Your Hunger Knowledge
Video for Students: Food For Thought, What Is Hunger In America?
Video for Students: Feeding America PSA w/ Abigail Breslin
Video for Students: Feeding America PSA w/ Taye Diggs
Power Point: Postcard Project talking points, hunger facts, and Food Bank facts
MA DOE Standards for this project (grades 3-8)
