Service Learning Teaching Resources 

The Hunger Obstacle Course (UN World Food Program)

Hunger affects populations both globally and domestically. Students should be aware of the obstacles to food security and good levels of nutrition that many people face every day. Encouraging students to find solutions to these problems heightens their awareness of the issues and enables them to realize that members of a community can help each other in concrete ways. This activity engages participants in creative problem solving through a time-limited process of generating solutions to different hunger-related problems. Small groups of students circulate around the room and write down solutions to each of the hunger obstacles. (Downloadable resource)

Hungry Decisions (Church World Services)

Hungry Decisions - an online story about a person trying to survive in a rural area of a developing country - can be used individually, in pairs or in groups as a way to deepen understanding of poverty and hunger. Ask each participant/team to decide whether they will be a man or woman in the story. Like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, students must make choices at the end of each page. Remind them to make their choices carefully, weighing the alternatives - their lives depend on it!

Read to Feed (Heifer International)

Read to Feed is a reading incentive service-learning program that offers global education opportunities and will foster in children a love for reading, a passion to help others and a motivation to help create a better world. Students solicit sponsors per book or page to raise funds and awareness for Heifer International causes. Includes downloadable resource kits by grade - including grade-specific lesson plans.

Rice Bowls: Hunger Crisis in Africa

This is a downloadable three-part lesson designed for eighth graders examining the hunger crisis in Africa. It can be modified for individual lessons and other grade levels. (Downloadable resource)

Hunger and Malnutrition (Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger)

Three easy-to-use model lessons are provided to help young people explore and understand the problems of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity in the world. The lessons, developed for three different grade levels and ages, cover the following topics:
Lesson 1: What are Hunger and Malnutrition and Who are the Hungry?
Lesson 2: Why are People Hungry and Malnourished?
Lesson 3: What Can We Do to Help End Hunger?
The lessons provide a starting point for teachers and leaders of young people from the primary through the secondary level to introduce these topics inside or outside the classroom. Intended for use around the world, the lessons and materials can be adapted and refined to meet local circumstances, needs and conditions. 

Designing An End To Hunger (UN World Food Program) 

In this lesson, students will be challenged to learn about hunger and then apply their knowledge to create an advertisement for an advocacy-campaign raising awareness about hunger for the World Food Programme.

How'd That Get On My Plate? (UN World Food Program)

Where does our food come from? And more importantly, why does it travel so far to reach us? This activity illustrates the interdependency of our global food system and encourages critical thought and reflection.

The Hunger Obstacle Course (UN World Food Program)

Hunger affects populations both globally and domestically. Students should be aware of the obstacles to food security and good levels of nutrition that many people face every day. Encouraging students to find solutions to these problems heightens their awareness of the issues and enables them to realize that members of a community can help each other in concrete ways. This activity engages participants in creative problem solving through a time-limited process of generating solutions to different hunger-related problems. Small groups of students circulate around the room and write down solutions to each of the hunger obstacles.

Food Force (UN World Food Program Online Video Game - Facebook)

Food Force is a computer game in which players join a WFP emergency team and overcome the many challenges of delivering food in an emergency. Score points by locating the hungry, buying the right food and executing perfect airdrops.

Teaching the Food System (John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future)

The modules span topics from field to plate, emphasizing the relationships between food, public health, equity and the environment. The material is focused on issues in the U.S. food system, but also touches on some of their global implications. Though they suggest teaching the modules sequentially, they can be used in any order, either independently or as part of a series. The sequence of modules roughly follows the food supply chain from field to plate.

Hunger and Food Security Lesson Plan 

Lecture/discussion-based overview of hunger and food security for older students. Great background material for teachers.

Rice Bowls: Hunger Crisis in Africa

This is a downloadable, three-part lesson designed for eighth graders that examines the hunger crisis in Africa. It can be modified for individual lessons and other grade levels. 

Hunger in the World Map

Research what factors contribute to food insecurity in countries with a high percentage of malnourished individuals.

Hunger and Malnutrition (Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger)

Three easy-to-use model lessons are provided to help young people explore and understand the problems of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity in the world. The lessons, developed for three different grade levels and ages, cover the following topics:
Lesson 1: What are Hunger and Malnutrition and Who are the Hungry?
Lesson 2: Why are People Hungry and Malnourished?
Lesson 3: What Can We Do to Help End Hunger?
The lessons provide a starting point for teachers and leaders of young people from the primary through the secondary level to introduce these topics inside or outside the classroom. Intended for use around the world, the lessons and materials can be adapted and refined to meet local circumstances, needs and conditions.

Food Security Lesson Plan (Pulitzer Center) 

In this lesson, students explore the concept of food insecurity, examining its causes and effects in Guatemala, India, and Kenya.

Hunger in the United States Lesson Plan (Teaching Tolerance: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center)

Lesson plan with the following objectives: 
 •  Recognize that hunger exists in the United States and explain why;
 •  Identify which groups are most affected by hunger and explain why;
 •  Identify ways to address the problem of hunger;
 •  Read, make and analyze graphs that show that hunger is a growing problem in the United States. 
Includes links to materials/handouts and extension ideas.

Why Hunger’s Food Security Learning Center

Select a topic to access related articles, resources, images and videos. Search by Theme, Featured Topics or View All Topics to learn more about how we grow, process and eat our food, why people are hungry and what communities are doing to change our food system. Themes include Hunger & Poverty, Local Food Economies, and Growing Our Food
Featured topics: Climate Change and the Food System | Hunger in the U.S. | Food Deserts | Global Hunger | Nutrition Education | Poverty in the U.S. 

Rice Bowls: Percentages

Students will determine the proportion of children in our classroom that would have HIV/AIDS, be illiterate, and live below the poverty level were they to live in the US, Haiti, India, or South Africa. (Downloadable Math lesson plan.)

Hunger in the United States (Teaching Tolerance: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center)

Work with US food security data - create and present a graphic of data and explain what it shows. Think about what this data means, pose questions, and research/brainstorm solutions. Includes links to materials/handouts and extension ideas.

Interpreting Wealth Disparities (Teaching Tolerance: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center)

In this activity, students will look at graphic representations of data related to savings, assets and debt, as well as income. And, like those who organized the 1998 "Washington Monument" display, reinterpret data in public (or classroom) art. Students will understand how tables and graphs represent patterns; working in groups, students will reinterpret the data in artistic form.

Income and Food Security (Atlanta Community Food Bank)

This module explores the relationship between a household’s income and its level of food security, as well as community and government responses to hunger and poverty. The activities will give students the opportunity to learn about some of the daily challenges millions of people face in this country. (Downloadable Hunger 101 curriculum.) 

Race Against Hunger - Developing Sustainable Programs (Action Against Hunger)

Background information and classroom curriculum organized by subject. Case study on Chad. Math Lesson: Developing sustainable programs for communities in Kenya.

Holiday Charity: A Math Activity About Poverty (Teaching Tolerance: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center)

The holiday season often marks the launch of toy and canned food drives in schools. Use this activity to deepen students understanding of those being served and the dynamics of poverty in the United States. 

How'd that get on my plate? (UN World Food Program)

Where does our food come from? And more importantly, why does it travel so far to reach us? This activity illustrates the interdependency of our global food system, and encourages critical thought and reflection. (Downloadable resource)

Hunger and Malnutrition (Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger)

Three easy to use model lessons are provided to help young people explore and understand the problems of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity in the world. The lessons, developed for three different grade levels and ages, cover the following topics:
Lesson 1: What are Hunger and Malnutrition and Who are the Hungry?
Lesson 2: Why are People Hungry and Malnourished?
Lesson 3: What Can We Do to Help End Hunger?
The lessons provide a starting point for teachers and leaders of young people from the primary through the secondary level to introduce these topics inside or outside the classroom. Intended for use around the world, the lessons and materials can be adapted and refined to meet local circumstances, needs and conditions.

Food Deserts: Causes, Consequences and Solutions (Teaching Tolerance: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center)

Increases in obesity and diet-related diseases are major health problems in the United States. During the last 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in the nation’s obesity rates, correlating with increased rates of cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, Type 2 diabetes, increased health-care costs, reduced quality of life and increased risk for premature death.This lesson explores the concept of food deserts and the relationship between food deserts, poverty and obesity. Students are encouraged to examine their personal access to a healthy diet; compare prices of common staple items among different retail options; and analyze the causes and consequences of food deserts locally and nationally. Finally, students are asked to come up with solutions to help the food desert that is closest to their school. 
Topics: Race and Ethnicity | Wealth and Poverty

Why Hunger’s Food Security Learning Center

Select a topic to access related articles, resources, images and videos.
Featured topics: Climate Change and the Food System | Food Deserts | Nutrition Education 

Warming World, Hungry Planet (Oxfam America)

One page fact sheet on climate change and how it could be the single biggest threat to winning the fight against hunger.

When Sugar Isn't Sweet (Oxfam America)

One page fact sheet on land grabbing and its role in the sugar supply chains of some of the world's biggest food and beverage companies. 

UNICEF Database

Includes a database on child nutrition.

Race Against Hunger - Crop Simulation (Action Against Hunger)

Background information and classroom curriculum organized by subject. Case study on Chad Science Lesson: Crop Simulation (compare climates by giving plants different amounts of water and compare to case study) 

Interpreting Wealth Disparities (Teaching Tolerance: A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center)

In this activity, students will look at graphic representations of data related to savings, assets and debt, as well as income. And, like those who organized the 1998 "Washington Monument" display, reinterpret data in public (or classroom) art.

Empy Bowls

The Empty Bowls project involves creating original ceramic bowls. You then use the bowl to serve a meal of soup and bread to someone you know. The objective is to raise money for hunger alleviation by asking the person who receives the bowl to donate money to an organization working to reduce poverty. Your guest gets to keep the bowl as a reminder of the many empty bowls in the world. You could even coordinate your Empty Bowls project with World Food Day (October 16). 

UN World Food Program

Resources for the classroom including photos, videos, maps, and lesson plans. Includes teacher blogs, “Hunger 101,” and links to other helpful sites. Can sign up for “TEACHunger” updates. 

Fighting Hunger the Rights Way (UN World Food Program)

Fighting Hunger the Rights Way is designed to coincide with prescribed learning outcomes for English, math, science and social studies in grades 4-6 and 7-9. This format provides teachers the opportunity to teach about children’s rights and world malnutrition while also covering learning outcomes. (Downloadable resource)

Teaching the Food System (John Hopkins Center for a Livable Future)

Food System teaching resources

Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger

Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger is a global initiative for creating greater awareness and understanding of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. By providing resources and practical tools, Feeding Minds aims to inform and inspire young people, their teachers and leaders, and people of all ages to seek solutions to reduce hunger and malnutrition in their families, their communities and in the world. Part of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Hunger in the World Map

Kids Can Make a Difference

KIDS is a program of iEARN (International Education and Resource Network) the world's largest non- profit global network that enables teachers and youth to use the Internet and other technologies to collaborate on projects that enhance learning and make a difference in the world. The teacher guide, Finding Solutions to Hunger: Kids Can Make A Difference, has been used in middle- and high-schools, after school programs, religious schools, distance learning programs, home schools, and local food banks. It features uplifting, engaging, interactive and challenging lessons on the causes of and solutions to domestic and international hunger. It examines contemporary development projects, the role of the media, famine vs.chronic hunger, the working poor, and more, as well as valuable ideas for how young people can make a difference in their communities and in the world around them. In the hands of a creative teacher, the guide is adaptable to a range of ages. 

Why Hunger’s Food Security Learning Center

PBS Newshour Extra

In order to help teachers teach the topic of hunger and food security in their classrooms, NewsHour Extra compiled these five handy resources and lesson plans in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). 

Race Against Hunger - Hunger Guide for Teachers (Action Against Hunger)

Background information and classroom curriculum organized by subject: English, Social Studies, Math, Science, PE, Foreign Language, Technology, Art. Case study on Chad.

Heifer Farm Field Trips Rutland, MA 

"Seeds" program (day) and overnight programs.

Host an OxFam Banquet where a small percentage of students enjoy a lavish, abundant meal, some students have a decent meal with no extras, and a large group of students eat rice and drink water. OxFam offers a free toolkit for schools with discussion questions, promotional materials, and fact sheets. 

Race Against Hunger - Water Jug Relay (Action Against Hunger)

Background information and classroom curriculum organized by subject. Case study on Chad. Experiential/Physical Education Lesson: Water Jug Relay (about a 10 year old girl in Zambia who travels over one hour to get water for her family every day.)