The 3rd grade class at Kenner Discovery raised $1,200 for the Kenner Food Bank through their “Empty Bowl Project”. The lesson stemmed from a design thinking for social innovation project planned to have the students solve a problem in their community. The 3rd grade teachers worked with the students to choose a relevant topic for the students: childhood hunger.
All design thinking begins with a problem, the teachers first planned lessons to educate the students about hunger in the country, but also in their own community. Students then learned statistics, facts, how hunger affects the body, and the difficulties of grocery shopping on a budget. When it came time to find a solution to the problem, students brainstormed different ideas, and it was decided the students would conduct an Empty Bowl Project. Empty bowls are used to represent those going without food and are sold or auctioned to raise money.
In art class, every third grade student handcrafted and painted their own coil bowl out of clay. Then, on Wednesday, May 17, the teachers invited student’s family, friends and faculty to attend “Empty Bowl Night”. At Empty Bowl Night, all of the student’s bowls were displayed in a silent auction. The students delivered persuasive speeches on why it was important to raise money for this important cause. The bowls were then auctioned off and 100% of the proceeds went to a local food bank.
In total, the students were able to raise $1,200 for the Kenner Food Bank. Ben Zan, Mayor of Kenner, Dominick Impastato, Councilman and the Kenner Food Bank Director visited Kenner Discovery and the 3rd grade students presented the donation.
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