Students will make and distribute jars of dried soup mix to people in the community.

• "Copy-and-Paste" Class/School Newsletter Information Insert:
  Where does our food come from and why are some people hungry? One question is easy to answer and the other is hard. In our busy lives we don't always notice that our children are completely removed from the actual sources of the things we eat and use every day. We hope to make the children just a little more aware of where things come from in our philanthropy unit called "Souperservice Kids."
  We will start with a closer look at gardening and what goes on at a farm. We will explore tastes and the other senses that help us make food choices. The children will learn about the food pyramid and the reasons why they can't have all the sweets they want. Then, through literature, the students will understand that some people do not have a place to live and enough food to eat. They will learn that they can act as philanthropists and do something about it. A philanthropist gives time, talent or treasure for the common good.
  Please mark the following date on your calendar as we are having a family night to share what we have learned. On this important evening the entire family will participate in a service project to benefit hungry people in our own community.
  
  
• Interactive Parent/Student Homework:
  In Lesson One: Harvesting the Produce, students bring in a vegetable from their own gardens, if possible. In the previous spring, send home a note to encourage families to plant a vegetable plant. (See Lesson One, Attachment One: First Homework Parent Letter.) In the fall, ask families to bring in a home-grown vegetable. (See Lesson One, Attachment Two: Harvest Time Parent Letter.) Before the culminating event of the Family Night, it is important to give families an invitation enough in advance. (See Lesson One, Attachment Three: Family Night Parent Letter.) In Lesson Two: Our Five Senses Affect Food Choices, you will need some parent helpers to lead five centers and prepare foods. In Lesson Three: Healthy Food Makes Healthy Body, students record what they eat for one meal and gain awareness that healthy food costs money and different foods cost different amounts. In Lesson Four: Farmers Contribute to the Good of All, students check in their own homes to see what ways foods are stored for future use. They also discuss with their parents how their family has shared personal resources (demonstrated community responsibility). In Lesson Seven, We Are Philanthropists-Souperservice Families, families are involved in an evening event that raises awareness of the simple ways that we can be involved in philanthropy projects in our communities. The families gather to assemble jars of dried soup mix. Later, families, or the class, will bring the jars to a local soup kitchen.