Sitting around the dining room table eating dinner as a family every night is probably my favorite time of the day! I love that it is the one place we all can be together for a little bit of time to just TALK.
With a 4 year old in the house now, I am sure you can imagine all of the fun talks we get to have. At this age they are SO inquisitive and ask questions that sometimes I don’t even know the answer to!
The other night as we were eating our dinner – her big blue eyes looked up from her food and asked, “Does everyone in the whole wide world eat dinner?”
My immediate response was “YES!”…but then I realized that I was wrong.
“Actually, I said. Not everyone in the whole wide world gets to eat dinner…” And our short 10 minute dinner conversation turned into a big family theme for the next few months.
In fact, her sweet question inspired our family to investigate on how we can help end hunger – so one day, EVERYONE in the “whole wide world” can eat dinner.
Hunger harms a person’s physical, emotional, and social well-being. But it is even more devastating for children, as it can hinder their full potential.
After doing a bit of research – we came across Scholastic and Feeding America’s program called Hungry To Help – a program to engage families and communities on the topic of hunger during the summer months. When you check out their website here, you will find an entire Family Action Plan that has everything you need to help your children and communities fight hunger.
In fact, The Family Action Plan includes:
- Links and online resources for more in-depth information
- Family conversation starters on the topic of hunger
- Hands-on community action ideas and family activities
- Children’s activity sheet to draw their perfect world
- A summer checklist to track your progress
One of my favorite parts of the Family Action Plan are 9 Conversation Starters you can have with your children to get the conversation going about hunger. They are:
- Make it Relevant
- Teach Through Example
- Share Your Own Stories
- Provide an Explanation
- Encourage Children to Talk About Their Emotions
- Engage Them With Their Own Imaginations
- Show Them How They Can Make a Difference
- Inspire Them to Make Choices
- Make a Plan For Your Family
In addition, the Family Action Plan shares 9 incredible ways to inspire and empower our children to take action!
- Make an “I’m Thankful” collage
- Recommended Reading List
- Write For Change
- Create Your Own Collection Box
- Create A Fundraiser
- Plant a Family Garden
- Draw for Change
- Hold a Community Food Drive
- Volunteer
You can check out further explanations and details by downloading “The Family Action Plan.”
As a family, we had so much fun making an “I’m Thankful” collage and have it hanging in her bedroom. Every night before bed we add one more thing on the list of what we are thankful for – and it has been the SWEETEST thing to see each day.
In addition, she is saving her change to donate to less fortunate families, as she is certain that one day “EVERYONE in the whole wide world will get to eat dinner.”
For more information you can check out the full Hungry to Help program.
This post is sponsored by Feeding America and Scholastic. The ideas and opinions are all my own.
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Danielle is the owner of Today's the Best Day. She strives to provide creative and uplifting content in order to enrich the parenting experience for women everywhere. Danielle hopes to help you and your family to make every day the best day! 
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