6th Grade Food Security Project

Food Security Capstone Synopsis

Each year at Penn Charter, students in the sixth grade engage in a year-long study of the issue of food insecurity in Philadelphia. The study includes classwork, listening to speakers on campus, and a service-learning component in the form of monthly visits with local partner organizations that are aligned with food justice. The goals of the project include identifying what food insecurity is and what its underlying causes are, thinking critically and compassionately about the effects of hunger on individuals and families, and understanding how complicated, yet how preventable, this problem is, and what steps we can take to be a part of the solution. 

In the classroom, teachers across multiple disciplines collaborate and build connections with this project into their curriculum so that students can see the real-world applications of what they are learning. Guest speakers challenge students' assumptions about hunger, homelessness, and what it takes to be food secure. Long-term relationships and repeated visits to local organizations allow students to connect with their community and collaborate with change cultivators across Philadelphia in substantive ways. 

Finally, during Capstone Night in May, students share their experiences and takeaways with families and lead them through an interactive hunger simulation, in which guests are placed in the shoes of someone experiencing food insecurity and tasked with providing food for their household for a week. Capstone Night serves as an important culmination of what students have learned throughout the year by allowing them to apply what they have learned dynamically. Following this project, students are prepared to continue to educate those around them on the issue of food insecurity, are better oriented towards steps to make meaningful change, and are well-equipped to take the lead in exploring and offering solutions to community problems.