Noelle's Post

What were the high points for you of Mama’s Kitchen Quest this trimester?

What was something surprising you learned during this Quest? 

What do you think next steps should be for yourself and Mama’s Kitchen to address hunger in our area?

 This trimester I took a Mama's Kitchen course at St. Annes Belfield school. In this class I learned about poverty in Charlottesville and in the USA. I was surprised that this was so big. I mean I thought it was big but I did not know it was that big. There are more people than I would think that are food insecure. Most people you would not know even know might be food insecure. Also the  gorverment almost solved this problem of proverty but then people thought that the government was all up in their business. So the y stopped doing as much. This created more hunger in the States. Also the that food stamps are only for people who get paid under a certain amount. Once you are over that amount then you do not get food stamps anymore. After doing this class I want to keep helping to eliminate hunger in anyway I can. Whether it is donating to the food bank, cooking for others, helping out at the food bank, or teaching others about hunger and how they can help. I want to do as much as I can. 

Sofia's Review

        I personally had a ton of fun in Mama's Kitchen. I learned about so many things: food insecurity, poverty, minimum wage, and that even though people work they may still struggle. I learned that the homeless guys on the streets are in one type of poverty. And usually, that's the first thing people think of when someone says "poverty". But people who don't get enough pay and have to be on food stamps, are living not knowing whether or not they will have food on their table for dinner the next day. That is poverty too.
        This changed a ton of things for me. It changed how I saw people; my perspective. Our chapel was good but it didn't even begin to show what was really out there; it gave a good idea though. We hope our chapel inspired people to make a change in the worlds of others who are not as well off as we are. I wanted to try to make a difference when I started out. But I didn't know how. Now I'm am confident that I will be able to help people in poverty if I persevere. Mama's Kitchen was worth it.

Vaya's Post

Through the past few weeks, I have learned so much. Mama's Kitchen has been a wonderful way to learn about what is going on in the community. I think that one of the highest points during this trimester was how we all worked together to help the community. I really liked the sense of teamwork that we had. Also, I could tell that everyone was focused on the same thing, helping those in need. The most surprising thing I learned was that obesity is linked to poverty. We all need to work together to make healthy food less expensive. Obesity is caused because people do not have enough money to pay for the healthier food even though they may be working multiple jobs a day. I think that our next step should be to serve the hungry. We should organize a dinner or lunch every other week that is open to anyone who does not have enough money to pay for nutritious food or cannot afford a good meal. Another thing that we could do is raise money to give to the food bank because if they did not get enough donations they could use money that the community raised for them to buy more food. Participating in Mama's Kitchen has opened my eyes to so many possibilities and opportunities. I know that many people may not have the opportunities that I have and that is why I want to do as much as possible to help those in need.

Check out http://www.feedingamerica.org to learn more about poverty.

Gracie's Review

Over the last few months, Mama's Kitchen taught us about poverty. Our teachers helped us better understand it and we are no longer innocent towards this situation. The Mama's Kitchen quest inspired us and quite a few of us are volunteering at the local food bank.

High Points:
In this quest, I had quite a few high points. One of them was when we got to stay in during lunch and watch a movie. Many of us felt bad because many of us brought junk food, while the children in the movie are wishing for fruits and vegetables. Another high point was spray painting bins and listening to music while running around barefooted. One final high point is the first time we collected the bins, and many of them where full. We were very surprised at how many people brought it food after the first week.

Surprising Points:
One surprising point was when many people in different quests and arts were bringing in food and the impact the food would make.

Addressing Hunger:
One way that I would personally address hunger would be to bring in tons of food for the food bank and definitely volunteer to help them out.

Links:
End Hunger
Feeding America
Do Something

Creations;
One thing that I created during out quest was the most needed items list. This was fun because I made them by hand, despite the 21st century technology. Another thing that I did was help spray paint the bins for the food.

Charlotte's Thoughts

1. What were the high points for you of Mama’s Kitchen Quest this trimester?
2. What was something surprising you learned during this Quest?
3. What do you think next steps should be for yourself and Mama’s Kitchen to address hunger in our area?

1. I really loved doing the bins because they were fun to design and paint and it made me feel like I was helping people. 

2. What I found surprising was that how many children are in poverty. I thought it was mostly adults because that is what I saw on the streets. But poverty is just not on the streets. It can be anywhere.

3. I think we should do some sort of public event in Charlottesville so then it would make a bigger impact on poverty.

hunger is not just on the streets

T.H.I.N.K