Ask the students if that table seems like a nice place to be. Then say, "What special friends would you want to invite to that special table?" Listen to some personal choices.

Ask the children if they know what it means to be hungry. Listen to their responses. Tell them that everyone feels hungry between meals, but there is a deeper hunger people feel when they don't have food for meals.

Say, "Some children in the United States are able to come to a table like this every day to eat healthy meals with family and friends. Many children in the United States do not have food to put on a special table like this. In fact, you probably know some children who do not have food to eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. About 17 million children in this country are thinking right now about where they are going to get their next meal. They are not sure they will have enough to eat each day. They are 'food insecure.' Wouldn't it be nice to invite them to this very special table?"

Ask, "Shall we find a way to help children get food for their tables?" Listen to some of their suggestions.

Tell the students that they are going to make a very special table that will help bring food to hungry children. In order to prepare for that discussion, they are going to learn about some things they can do to help children who are hungry in their own community.Investigate the issue of child hunger by watching (parts of) this"Growing Hope Against Hunger" video on Sesame Street to help children understand the issue of hunger and ways young people can take action. https://www.sesamestreet.org/parents/topicsandactivities/toolkits/food. The first six minutes introduce the issue, give some facts, and provide motivation for helping. After the video, ask the children to name some things young people can do to help.

Day Two

Investigation

Tell the students about a boy who took action to address a need in his community. "Will Lourcey, 9, saw a need in the community, made a plan, gathered his team, and took action. After seeing a man on a street corner carrying a sign that read 'Need a Meal,' Will wanted to do something to help. He brought together a group of friends to volunteer at a local food bank where they packed 6,000 backpacks with food for kids at-risk of hunger and served 500 families through Mobile Food Pantry. This was the start of FROGs: Friends Reaching Our Goals, whose motto is "Having fun while helping others." Ask the students whether young people can make a difference in helping young people. Discuss how their project centered around a table can make a difference.

Read aloud a book about hunger, food, or children taking action to change the world, such as Stone Soup or Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen. On selected pages, stop and encourage the children to interact with the book in the following ways: identify words that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses; identify elements in the pictures that describe the people, setting, or events; discuss elements of the story, such as who, what, why, where, and when. Discuss how the characters took action and how their action made a difference to others.

Ask the children, What do people need to be healthy and grow? Their response might be food, water and shelter. All the children in the community share the same local resources, and we are all connected. We can help children get what they need. We can tell others about their needs and ask for help. Maybe people don't know that some children need food." Ask the children for creative ideas for how to tell others about the needs of children who are hungry.

Share with the children that many people and organizations are already working to address the issue of hunger. The government provides money for programs such as SNAP (government food assisstance program) and free and reduced lunches and breakfast at school. Some businesses donate money, and families and individuals share time and treasure to help people who are hungry. Even with all that help, more help is needed to address the problem.

In preparation for the next session, give students the homework assignment of asking family members about places in the community that provide food (and other services). Give them the question to discuss, "What are some places in our community that help people who are hungry get food?"

Optional Day Three

Continue investigation of the service-learning experience by takinga field trip in the community to map the resources available to community members. This may be a walk in an urban area or a drive for others. Point out resources that are available for all. This includes places that provide free services (library, shelter, parks, and community center) and resources that cost money (stores, mall, entertainment). Talk about where people who are food insecure can find resources.

Alternatives: Use Google Maps to virtually explore the community; have students recall places in the community that provide services.

Have students draw a simple map of the places they observed or researched. Discuss which organizations they could work with to help children who are hungry in the community.

Day Four

Preparation, Action, Reflection, Demonstration

Start this session by asking the students, "What can we each bring to the table to make a difference for children who are hungry?" Prepare for the service project--"What Will You Bring to the Table?"--allowing students to make as many decisions as age appropriate. For example, your class may set up a table in the gym and invite families to donate canned goods for the local food bank. You may plant a garden and grow food to donate to a local pantry. The students can plan how to decorate a table and make posters telling about the food drive. They may paint a new or old table to look likea work of art and display it in the community along with information on how the community can bring something to the table for people who are hungry. Or students may make models of tables with pre-printed facts about child hunger in the United States and ideas for people to take action. Be creative to address a local hunger need. Help them narrow their ideas to one project they do together. Use problem solving skills to come to a consensus on a project with a table theme.

Have each student write a sentence (younger students may dictate their sentence while older students may write a whole paragraph) telling what they plan to "Bring to the Table." What they bring may be time, talent, or treasure. It may be a can of peas or that they will tell others about the issue.

Get started on taking action on the service-learning project. As students work on the table project, they can document what they are doing, keep graphs and records of food collected and donated, if you are collecting treasure. Plan and carry out the table project over several days and weeks, reflecting with students daily on how it is going, what needs to be done, and how they feel about their work. Work on this project while you continue to learn about hunger and reflect on progress and what the students are doing.

Reflect on how their service project is going. Make a chart on the board with a reflection question and have the students put a smiley face on the chart to show where their response lies. Discuss the class results. Sample questions: How do you feel about what you are bringing to the table? Is our project important or making a difference to children who are hungry?