Dish and Serve

My goal with this project was to encourage my children to think about the people receiving our donation and the impact it would have on them.  We talked about how it must feel to have to go to a food bank to ask for assistance.  It’s probably scary to not know where your next meal will come from.  It’s stressful to worry about food and bills.  Some people might even feel a little embarrassed to have to ask for help.  What could we do to help them?

We decided that it would be fun to make our food donation look like tiered cakes.  This might make the recipient smile and feel happy for a bit!   Each child made their own “cake”.  We started with a silver platter from Dollar Tree.   Arrange the first layer of cans or cereal boxes, and secure with decorative tape.  Arrange the second layer and secure with tape.  Add a third layer if desired.  Wrap the cake with various ribbons and tie into bows.  Attach hand written notes (“Good luck”, “For You”).

My children wanted these to look like gifts, so after I took these pictures, we wrapped each tower in paper and tied the top with a bow.  We will deliver them to the food bank this weekend.

My kids are happy to be helping someone in our community, and I’m glad that this activity encouraged them to stop and thing about how others are feeling.  I hope it was a great learning experience for them!