Third Grade Tackles Food Insecurity

Third grade students at University School of Milwaukee have spent the past several weeks learning about food—including how much food costs, and areas of the city where food is and is not readily available, and why someone might struggle to afford it. The unit culminated in a field trip to Kinship Community Food Center and Kinship’s urban vegetable farm, also known as hoop houses, where students learned about Kinship’s mission to engage volunteers and neighborhood residents to end hunger, isolation, and poverty.

In the weeks leading up to the field trip, students learned about the cost of food in class and how to determine healthy options that would also be non-perishable. As part of the project, students completed chores at home to earn money, which they then used to purchase food to bring to Kinship. 

USM’s 3rd grade students donated a total of 1,096 pounds of food to Kinship, including canned goods, peanut butter, boxes of cereal and pasta, soap, toothbrushes, and more. While there, students helped to unpack the food, sort it into categories, and stack the food on shelves so community members can easily find what they need. They also learned about Kinship’s mission, a brief history of food insecurity in Milwaukee, and why individuals might not be able to purchase food for themselves and their family members.

While at Kinship’s urban farm, the students took tours of the hoop houses on the property, which provide fresh produce to Kinship Community Food Center. Fresh lettuce, kale, and herbs were in full bloom. The 3rd graders, armed with with tools and gardening gloves, helped to pull weeds from one hoop house in order to prepare for the planting of strawberries and watermelon.

Third grade teachers at USM have been teaching this unit, and visiting Kinship, since 2015. “We want students to know that they can be leaders at school, at home, and in their community,” said Mary Liz Rogers, 3rd grade teacher. “It is important for them to understand that people around them are in need, and that everyone has something to give—whether it be healthy food, time, or friendship.”

Many thanks to the 3rd grade teachers for organizing and coordinating the visit: Elle Rodriguez Hernandez, Mary Liz Rogers, Laura Vande Hei, and Brita Willis.