stop the hunger monster toolkit
Children can make a positive difference in the lives of other kids in need. It’s important to talk to children about hunger and inspire them to take action to fight hunger. In this step-by-step toolkit, teachers and parents can use the resources to teach young children about the Atlanta Community Food Bank and how they can help us stop the Hunger Monster.
While using these resources, it is important to realize that people will bring their own experiences and attitudes to these activities and discussions. With 1 in 9 people and 1 in 8 children in Georgia experiencing food insecurity, it is likely that someone in your group or class will have experienced food insecurity and/or hunger at some point or will know someone who has.
Other people may live in an environment of plenty and have a difficult time understanding how hunger persists in the United States. It is essential not to judge or criticize different perspectives. It is our hope that these materials will help dispel myths and misconceptions that surround hunger issues and underscore the urgent need to get involved in the work being done to address hunger in our community.
** Our resources are free of charge, but we do ask that groups participate in a minimum of one action step to support our hunger-fighting efforts. Action step suggestions and tools are listed below.
What is the Atlanta Community Food Bank?
The Atlanta Community Food Bank is on a mission to end hunger and believes we can do so by engaging, educating, and empowering our community. You can use the following tools to teach students everything they need to know about the Atlanta Community Food Bank and how we are working with our community to end hunger.
Who is the Hunger Monster and how do we stop him?
Hunger is a monster that can strike anyone big or small, young or old.
The following book list and Stop the Hunger Monster activities can help young children learn about who the Hunger Monster is; the meaning of food and the importance of it to different cultures; and build empathy and inspiration towards ending hunger.
Book List
Busy, busy Nico the ape spends all his time gathering and hoarding food in his tree house. He’s just too busy to help the other animals of the rainforest, even when their houses are destroyed during the rainy season. But when Nico’s house is destroyed and all the animals come to his aid, Nico finally learns a lesson about generosity and friendship.
Available on YouTube.
Illustrated by Vin Vogel
Maddi and her family are struggling to make ends meet; despite their best efforts, Maddi’s parents are unable to provide fresh and wholesome food for their family. Upon finding out that Maddi and her parents are hungry, Sofia, Maddi’s best friend, must face the choice of whether to speak up (and help her friend) or remain silent.
Available at Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Amazon, or on YouTube.
Illustrated by Nneka Bennett
It is Thursday, and Andre and his mother want to commemorate his position on the honor roll. However, his mother is not paid until Friday. Unfortunately, because she has not been paid yet, Andre has to push back the celebration.
Available at Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Amazon or watch it on YouTube.
Illustrated by Gary Undercuffler
Lupe loves helping her mother with their salsa garden full of tomatoes, chile peppers, onions, garlic and cilantro. But one summer day, she sees that the biggest, juiciest tomatoes have disappeared! Find out who could have taken them and how Lupe gains a friend and community.
Illustrated by Christine M. Schneider
In My Food, Your Food, leading character Manuel enjoys food week in class. As each child reminisces about a special meal their family cooks and eats — and special ways they eat them — Manuel realizes that food across cultures is incredibly different. But by enjoying the diverse food traditions, eating with chopsticks, forks, and hands, Manuel realizes that eaters across cultures are actually surprisingly alike.
Available Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, on Amazon, or YouTube.
Illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
Fry Bread tells the story of a modern Native American family through the role fry bread plays in their family and community. The powerful poetry shows that even a staple food can say so much about family, history, memory, and community. In the end, Maillard shows how the bread serves as a tool to promote connectivity between communities and among nations.
Available on Atlanta-Fulton Public Library (available for electronic check out), on Amazon, or YouTube.
Illustrated by Christiane Engel
Stewart takes readers on a tour through the food traditions of 14 countries, highlighting that plates around the world are incredibly diverse. Exploring Brazil, Spain, Morocco, India, China, and more, Stewart explores the people, cooking practices, food, and ways of thinking that make each place unique. And with easy recipes, readers will be able to try the meals that are connecting them to families around the globe.
Available on Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, on Amazon, or YouTube.
Illustrated by Noah Z. Jones
Ruben and his family live in poverty and often have a difficult time paying the bills and shopping for groceries. Ruben really wants a bike like his best friend Sergio has, but his parents do not have the resources to buy him one. On the way to the local corner store, Ruben finds a $100 bill. Ruben must now make the choice whether to return the money, help his parents with bills or buy himself a bike
Available at Atlanta-Fulton Public Library, Amazon or watch it on YouTube.
Ilustrado por Vin Vogel
Maddi y su familia están luchando para llegar a fin de mes; a pesar de sus mejores esfuerzos, los padres de Maddi no pueden proporcionar alimentos frescos y saludables a su familia. Al descubrir que Maddi y sus padres tienen hambre, Sofía, la mejor amiga de Maddi, debe enfrentarse a la decisión de hablar (y ayudar a su amiga) o permanecer en silencio.
Disponible en la biblioteca pública de Atlanta-Fulton, Amazon o YouTube.
Ilustrado por Gary Undercuffler
A Lupe le encanta ayudar a su madre con su jardín de salsa lleno de tomates, chiles, cebollas, ajo y cilantro. ¡Pero un día de verano, ve que los tomates más grandes y jugosos han desaparecido! Descubra quién podría haberlos tomado y cómo Lupe gana un amigo y una comunidad.
Ilustrado por Anna Raff
El primer calabacín de un jardín de verano siempre es emocionante, pero ¿qué sucede cuando las plantas siguen creciendo … y creciendo … y creciendo? Zora pronto se encuentra con más calabacines de los que su familia puede cocinar, saltear o asar. Afortunadamente, la chica se le ocurre el plan perfecto: ¡un cambio de jardín!
Ilustrado Noah Z. Jones
Rubén y su familia no tienen suficientes recursos, tienen dificultades para pagar las facturas y hacer las compras. Rubén quiere una bicicleta como la que tiene su mejor amigo Sergio, pero sus padres no tienen los recursos para comprarle una. De camino a la tienda de la esquina, Ruben encuentra un billete de 100 dólares. Ruben ahora debe tomar la decisión de devolver el dinero, ayudar a sus padres con las facturas o comprarse una bicicleta.
Stop the Hunger Monster Activities
We all have a role to play in getting food to those in need. Sharing information and raising awareness about hunger and food insecurity is a great place to start. As you and your family go through these activities, discuss the following questions:
- How can not having enough food impact a person’s life?
- What does it feel like when you are hungry? How does your body feel? Do you feel like running, jumping and playing? or…Do you feel tired?
- What does it feel like when you are hungry? How does your body feel? Do you feel like running, jumping and playing? or…Do you feel tired?
- With 1 in 5 children in Georgia not having enough food to eat and needing to depend on an adult to get them food, why do you think it is important for each of us to help other families?
- Make puppets of some of the characters in the stories (from the list below) you have read about hunger, food, and/or community gardens and create your own story about helping people in your community. What else could you do as a family to help other families in need?
- Draw pictures of your favorite foods. Discuss what food groups they belong to and why it is important to consume a variety of foods. Look at myplate.gov. Make your own plate with your pictures of your favorite foods in each category. Discuss how not being able to purchase your favorite food or a variety of food can impact your health.
- Using pictures cut from magazines, or pictures of foods that are drawn and colored, have your child create a food rainbow with fresh foods that are naturally red, orange, purple, green, yellow, and blue. Discuss what you like about all the different foods. Learn about the nutrients in these different foods, and why it is important to be able to eat healthy nutritious foods. What can families who cannot afford all the different foods they need do to still eat nutritious food?
- Bake bread and make your own butter! Follow this recipe for the bread. For the butter, you will need one pint of heavy cream and a one-quart plastic jar with a lid. Put the cream in the jar and close the lid tightly! Each person shakes the jar 25 times then passes it to the next person. Keep shaking and passing the jar until butter starts to form. (Look for flakes, then small pieces, and then chunks of butter in the cream.) After big lumps form, open the jar and carefully pour off the watery “buttermilk.” With clean hands, roll the butter into a ball, and then taste it on the bread. It is delicious! Talk about how much time it takes to make food without using already prepared or semi-prepared foods. Discuss how our lives would be different if we always had to grow and make our own food from scratch. Does everyone have access to the materials necessary to make their own food?
- Make a planter out of an egg carton or other recycled container. Plant veggie seeds in your container. As soon as they have sprouted, dig up one or two to learn about how veggies grow from seeds. Grow the rest of the sprouts until it’s time to harvest. Have a taste test between your grown veggies and the same veggies purchased at the store. Are there any differences in flavor and appearance? Explore other great gardening activities in Green Thumbs: A Kid’s Activity Guide to Indoor and Outdoor Gardening by Laurie Carlson. Donate the rest of your fully grown veggies to a food pantry.
- Write a poem or a story about a time you helped out another person and how did that make you feel, or about why it is important to help others. Then share your story or poem with your family, or even send it to a local newspaper or to a children’s magazine.
- Watch a video about hunger, community gardens, and food with your family. Sesame Street has many features on gardening that can be accessed via their website SesameStreet.org or YouTube. Street Garden Cooperation, A Garden in the Middle of the City, Mrs. Obama Plants a Garden, Growing Hope Against Hunger, Grover Talks About Plants, Hurray-Hurrah For Broccoli, Monster Foodie Truck series, Garden | Elmo’s World is a great place to start. Discuss why it is important to learn about hunger and food.
- A food bank is a place that collects and stores food for people in need. Food donations are key to their success. Dried and canned goods such as peanut butter, soup and beans are some of the best foods to donate. What other items do you think would be good to contribute? Have your child draw or color the best food to donate to a food bank or pantry. Talk about why it is important to know what food is most needed by an organization. Why is it important to know what types of food are ideal to donate to food banks?
Stop the Hunger Monster Food and Fund Drive:
After learning about the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Hunger Monster and food insecurity, it is time to take what your group has learned and help us Stop the Hunger Monster! Food and Fund Drives are a powerful way to make a meaningful difference. Use the following materials to help you create a fun and successful drive.
- Register your Food and Fund Drive here!
- Tips for a successful food and fund drive!
- Food and Fund Drive Planning Sheets
- Most needed items
- Barrel/Box Poster (You can use your own collection boxes or pick up barrels from the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Please note that barrels will be extremely heavy to move once full of food.)
- Thermometer (For tracking donations in pounds or dollars.)
Other Ways to Take Action:
Collecting donations is one of many ways to take action against food insecurity. Can you think of other ways that your group can work together to take action against the Hunger Monster? Click to download Take Action page.
After You Have Taken Action:
Congratulations! You have completed your successful action step. To wrap up your Stop the Hunger Monster experience, please schedule a time to visit the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Our Education and Outreach staff will take your group on a tour of our facility, accept the donations collected during your action step and would love to hear all about your success to Stop the Hunger Monster.
Questions about your Stop the Hunger Monster experience and action step: education@acfb.org