SOSE/HSIE: Students describe global variations in the access of people to food as an essential aspect of life;
Students explain the link between resource use and sustainability.
RE: Students make links between moral messages in religious and other texts and life experiences;
Students explore implications of Church teachings and human wisdom for personal moral behaviour.
As an introduction to this topic, complete the interactive Food Quiz
PowerPoint in the ‘Food’ section of our schools pages
a. What is food security? (“When all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.” Source: World Health Organisation)
Kaluram, Nepal. Credit: Marden Dean b. Is there enough food grown to feed the world’s population? Yes, there is enough nutritious food to meet everyone’s daily needs. The problem is that not everyone has access to food. c. Who suffers from chronic hunger? d. Why are people hungry?
Resources required: A guide to a healthy diet, selection of shopping brochures.
Billions of people live on less than $2/day. This is very difficult to imagine here in Australia.
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Tell students they have a budget of $20 to buy all their food for one week.
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Using a collection of supermarket shopping brochures, students create a healthy meal plan for one week in 20 minutes. After ten minutes, announce that inflation has just raised food prices by 50 percent.
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Afterwards, discuss: Was it possible to buy enough healthy food for the week? What foods were most popular? What foods did students realise they should not buy? How would they feel if they really had only $20 of food for a week? How did they feel when food costs went up through no fault of their own? What would they do if they did not have enough money to buy food?
In groups, students are given one of the following issues that affect food security: war; poverty; natural disasters eg. flood or drought; insect pests; biofuels; trade barriers. Each group develops a presentation for the rest of their class on how their issue impacts on food security.
View the online presentations of What the World Eats which have been adapted from the book Hungry
Planet: What the World Eats by Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio. Discuss the number of people the food feeds, the types of food, the cost of the food, etc.
What the World Eats, Part 1 What the World Eats, Part 2 What the World Eats, Part 3
Secondary/Upper primary
HSIE/SOSE, RE
Classroom activities
Last updated Jan 2012

Part A: Food aid
There will always be a need for food aid. During or after an emergency such as an earthquake, flood, or war, Caritas provides food parcels to families to prevent hunger, malnutrition and disease.
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Can you name three emergencies overseas that Caritas Australia has responded to?
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To learn about emergencies to which we are currently responding, visit our website.
Note: Food aid is a short term solution. Communities who have been suffering from food shortages need some assistance to grow more food if they are farmers, or to increase their income to buy food. This helps lead families to food security.
Part B: Food security
Caritas Australia works with communities to ensure they have access to enough healthy food.
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Learn about the Farmer Field Schools in Nepal. Resources include a short film about the project, photo galleries, stories and teaching activities for secondary students.
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Learn about the Sustainable Agriculture Program in Uganda which is helping farmers increase food security by learning to adapt to climate change and other challenges.
Investigate the differences and similarities between th e terms “food sovereignty‟ and “food security‟.
Why does Caritas talk abo ut “food sovereignty‟ in our policy paper, Food: A Fundamental Right ?
a) What are the eight Millennium Development Goals ? b) What is the relationship between MDG1 - poverty and hunger - and the other seven goals: primary education, gender equality, infant health, maternal health, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, the environment and global partnerships? c) Explore the interactive Millennium Development Goal website, Blueprint for a better world , to learn how Caritas Australia is working to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. The website includes videos, stories, photo galleries, progress charts and more.
From the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the world’s largest humanitarian agency, Food
Force is a free educational video game about a hunger crisis on the fictitious island of Sheylan. In six minigames or “missions”, the game takes players from initial crisis assessment through to delivery and distribution of food aid. The game gives an overview of how food aid is used in both emergencies and long-term development projects. The game takes about half an hour.
The various Food Force missions demonstrate and help explain the following hunger learning themes:
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What is hunger and who are the hungry ?
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Why are people hungry and malnourished ?
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What can we do to help end hunger ?
Prayerfully reflect on this issue using the Matthew 25 PowerPoint in the assemblies section of our school pages. Students could prepare their own version of the illustrations.
The Global Reality Meal can be used to deepen your students’ understanding of the issue, as a way for them to share what they have learned, or as a fundraiser to enable them to make a difference. This is a powerful simulation that brings to life the problems of global hunger, poverty and inequality. Download the resource, containing instructions and script, from the “Food” section of our schools pages.
Secondary/Upper primary
HSIE/SOSE, RE
Classroom activities
Last updated Jan 2012