Photo Credit: UN World Food Programme and The Road to the Horizon
Food Aid
The act of giving food aid is a controversial one. It can also cause some confusion when looking at the country of origin of the film wrapped food that is available in many supermarkets, which may well turn out to be from an area that is receiving food aid, or where we are told that there are food shortages. The image shown above may well be the kind of thing we first think of when we think of food aid. The activities here may enable you and your students to question this assumption and think again.
Read the following script
This could be used as a 'Mind Movie' starter if you are using it with students and wish to use that particular 'thinking skills' style activity.
Activity 1: Finish the story
Try to write 50 words which continue the story, or take it to an outcome that you think is reasonable and makes sense in the context of what you have read so far about food security. Where is Grace sitting? Describe her surroundings. What is the weather like? What is her house like?
Activity 2: A twist in the plot
Now watch this video.
You will need access to YouTube - if using with students you may wish to download the video in advance using a site such as Zamzar. This would remove the issues that sometimes occur with videos hosted on YouTube when the site is filtered out by schools and videos can't be viewed directly in the classroom.
Think back to the story in Activity 1.
What are your thoughts now? How surprised were you with the actual situation that was being described in the original story introduction?
What do you feel about this scheme in the context of the phrase: "charity begins at home"
Would you be happy to contribute some of your income to support a scheme like this in your home town or village?
Do you think a scheme like this would be required in your town or village? How has the current 'credit crunch' affectted the likely take up of the scheme?
Where is the geography in this activity? Which concepts does it relate to?
A foodbank gives boxes of nutritionally balanced food and support to people experiencing emotional or financial crisis. Check the location of existing foodbanks on this webpage- are their any near you? It might be that you could contact the organisation to find out how they are helping people in your community, and the trends they are seeing in the demand for their services.
Photo Credit: Pwburris, made available under Creative Commons.
Activity 3: Hard Times
Read this article that appeared in the Guardian after a particularly cold snap in January 2010. In the article we read that demand for food banks rose sharply with the cold weather, especially when coupled with rising energy prices. The family in this article was even forced to burn their furniture in order to keep warm.
How might you use this story in the classroom? As always, some sensitivity towards the circumstances of your students will be required.
Now view this article on the BBC website.
How do the comments of Lois Charles link to earlier parts of the course? Which strategies that we discussed is Ms. Charles having to use with her family?
How does the lack of available money impact on the work of charities such as Oxfam?
Would Ms Charles be a suitable recipient of foodbank help?
Can you think of a situation where you might have need to use a food bank? Would you be 'happy' to receive aid of this sort?
Course Units
 Introduction |
 Getting Started |
 Supermarket Shock |
 Local Food Strategies |
 Global Food Strategies |
 The Perfect Storm? |
|
Food Aid |
 Getting the Message Across |
 Making a meal of it |
 Pedagogy and Thinking |
 Plenary |
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