Hunger Survey: Grades 3-6

This activity asks kids to test what they know, or think they know, about hunger and helps to dispel some commonly held myths.  The survey can be a good way to start a conversation about hunger.

True or False?  First, decide whether you think the following statements are true or false.  Then, in small groups, discuss your answers.  Are there any questions about which your group disagreed? Why?

1)     _____     There are no hungry people in the United States.

2)     _____     Only people who are homeless are hungry.

3)     _____     There is enough food to feed everyone in the world.

4)     _____     The U.S. government spends more than half of its money

helping poor people in other countries.

5)     _____     People who are hungry are lazy and don’t want to work.

6)     _____     Kids can’t do anything to help end hunger.

7)     _____     Poverty (being poor) isn’t as big a problem today as it was     

10 years ago.

8)     _____    There are more hungry people in big cities than in rural areas

         in the United States.

9)     _____    Most of the people who get food from organizations that help

         hungry people in western Massachusetts are children.

10)____          Natural disasters like floods and earthquakes are the biggest

         cause of hunger.

Hunger Survey Answer Key

This activity was adapted with permission from the Make Hunger History, a Bread For The World curriculum.

1)     False.  There are 31 million people in the United States who can’t always get enough food to eat.  More than 12 million of them are children under age 17.  That’s enough kids to fill 200 football stadiums!

2)     False.  Many people who are not homeless are hungry.  Sometimes, when people have jobs that do not pay a lot of money, it’s hard to pay rent, phone bills, buy gas, and clothes for the kids, and still have enough money left over for food.  Often, food is seen as something people can probably survive a day or two without when money is tight.

3)     True.  Researchers have proved that there is more than enough food grown in the world to feed everyone.  The problem is not that there isn’t enough food, but that some people do not have access to it.  They may not have enough money to buy certain expensive foods from the supermarket, or they might live in countries where it is very difficult to grow healthy food.

4)     False.  In 2000, the U.S. government spent less than 1 percent of its budget on foreign aid that helps poor people.

5)     False.  Many people who are hungry are people who shouldn’t be expected to work, like children, elderly, and disabled people.  Many others are working but have jobs that do not pay enough.  Only a small percentage of the people who could work, do not.

6)     False. Kids have a lot of power to help end hunger!  First, you can find out everything you can about hunger in your community and around the world.  Then, you can organize a food drive, raise money for a local organization that helps hungry people, write letters to your local newspaper about hunger, or teach people in your school and community about the problem and what they can do about it!

7)     True or False?  10 years ago, about 13.1% of Americans were poor.  In 1999, 11.8% of the population were poor in the United States.  However, the problems of hunger and poverty are not going away even though our country’s economy is doing so well.  This still means that one of every 10 Americans- or 32.3 million people- are poor.  Organizations that provide food to hungry people reported in 1999 an 18% increase in the number of people who came to get food.

8)    False. Hunger is a problem for adults and children in large and small cities, a well as in small towns and rural areas. While more people live in cities and hunger is more visible in these urban centers, there are people facing hunger in every Western Mass community, and nearly every community nationwide.

9)     False.  A little more than half of the people who get food from organizations that help hungry people in western Massachusetts are  working adults ages 19-55 years old. Many people who do work still need help making ends meet each month. However, 9% are over 55 years old, and 43% are under age 19.  One important reason children and elderly are hungry has to do with access to resources.  Very young people and very old people cannot work, and so they sometimes do not have much money to buy food.  The U.S. government gives money to senior citizens, called social security, but for some it is not enough to pay the bills and still have enough money for food.

10)  False.  It is true that natural disasters like earthquakes and hurricanes cause a lot of problems, especially in poor countries that do not have the money to help people rebuild their homes and businesses.  And a natural disaster like a drought can cause famine, a very serious kind of hunger that affects a whole region or country.  Most of the time, though, hunger is caused by poverty.

Back to YAH! home