12 days - 12 ways GardenShare is making a difference - day 10

As we look back on the year, we had to highlight our new Hunger 101 program.

Hunger 101 is an interactive, role-playing exercise where most participants play the role of a head of household trying to get enough food for the family.  After figuring out the households budget for food, the participant can visit a grocery store, the farmers market, the social services office, and the food pantry in this quest for food.

As part of our Hunger Action Month activities in September, we scheduled Hunger 101 workshops at Clarkson University, the Unitarian Universalist Church in Canton, and the Little River School.  We have also presented the program to students at St. Lawrence University in more than one class.  To date, about 100 people have taken part in a session and we are actively seeking to do more.

Here are just a few comments from recent participants:

• It gives you an idea of the frustrations people feel when trying to get help
• Having theresponsiblity of feeding a family when on a low-income is a lot of pressure
• It was horrifying to see the real application for SNAP
• More people should come!

Want to schedule a Hunger 101 for your organization?  Get in touch!



Read the rest of our 12 days series here.