Give Knowledge

The Story of Changing Lives in Elementary Schools

One in three Washington, D.C. children struggle with food insecurity year-round. Marthas Table, a non-profit organization, in Washington, D.C works to support stronger children and their families by increasing access to quality education programs, healthy food, and family supports.

In January 2015, Marthas Table, in partnership with the Capital Area Food Bank, launched Joyful Food Markets to increase access to and encourage consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables east of the Anacostia River. In each school, colorful tables are filled with baskets of fresh produce and piled high with healthy non-perishable food, while festive music plays. The markets are joyful community events, where families and children can mingle with volunteers and school administrators while selecting from seasonal produce and healthy pantry staples, totaling 23 pounds of food per enrolled student. In addition, the markets feature kids cooking activities, recipe samples, and chef-led culinary demonstrations, designed to get children excited about healthy eating and cooking.

Sarah Fitzpatrick at Eastern Senior High is a special education teacher that coordinated a volunteer day for her students. “The greatest part of volunteering is watching my students not only take on a little bit of leadership while learning about their vegetables, but especially watching them interact with the elementary school children shopping at the market. I saw my students light up and take on that responsibility. When the market ended and we finished cleaning up, they were begging to know when wed be back to help again, she said.

Indra Books is a driver for volunteers and she loves sharing her perspective on the community. People often imagine helping the homeless as serving plates of food through the glass wall of a traditional soup kitchen. This is so much more than that. Were directly interacting with our clients. Ive had people come up and give me hugs and even offer to loan me books theyve read. That interaction makes the impact so profound, said Indra.

Free Rice, Free Education

Without a doubt, the easiest way to donate food is through Freerice. Freerice is a 100% non-profit website that is owned by and supports the United Nations World Food Program. Freerice has two goals: to provide education to everyone for free and to help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. Each time you answer a question right, the banner ad that you see generates enough money for the World Food Program to buy 10 grains of rice to help reach Zero Hunger. This is all it takes to both improve your vocabulary and feed the world.

What Can You Do?

If you feel passionate about sharing your knowledge of nutrition, find an organization that is based more around educating others about food insecurity and making healthy eating choices. Many organizations appreciate having volunteers who want to advocate budget-friendly, healthy meals.

Or take 5 minutes a day to play on Freerice. There are a variety of categories to choose from history, math, chemistry. Watch how the rice bowl fills up.