November 6, 2015
TDS’s service learning commitment to fighting hunger merged with the Middle School Advisory Discussions to continue the talk on hunger and poverty. The entire Middle School met as a large group in the Commons to learn and have conversations about food waste – the causes of food waste, the effects of food waste, and what we can do to change the pattern. Mr. Butera began the all-Middle School discussion by showing a TED Talk, which highlighted the fact that this is an international crisis. Following the video, students broke into advisory groups to discuss a set of statistics, including:
• The video stated that roughly five-ninths of the food produced in the world is wasted. This is approximately 2 billion tons of wasted food each year.
• Globally, enough food is produced to provide each person on the planet 3,800 calories each day. The average person requires only 2,000 calories of food per day, and so the global food supply is nearly double what is needed to feed every person on the planet.
• About 1 in 9 people do not have enough to eat. Globally, nearly 800 million people suffer from hunger.
• Every day, approximately 21,000 people die of hunger worldwide. This is one person every four seconds. Most of these people are children.
After reading through the statistics together, students answered poignant questions about the effects of food waste on poverty and the economy. Middle School students were engaged during this activity, and they impressed their teachers with their thoughtful responses.
