Read to Feed
Loveland, Ohio – It’s a win-win when reading plus math equal an opportunity to help our neighbors in the Loveland community during the holiday season. That was the equation six Loveland Elementary School (LES) teachers were hoping for when they implemented a Read to Feed project; students were sponsored for every minute they read, and classrooms collected the money to purchase food to donate to Loveland’s LIFE Food Pantry.
“I think it is very important to not only teach my students the academics that they need to be successful, but also about good character,” said LES Teacher Melissa Prenger. “We have talked a lot about compassion and what it means to take care of others, even if we will never meet them. We consider ourselves family here at school and we are so excited to be able to help our extended Loveland families through the food pantry and this math/compassion project.”
To incorporate math into the lesson students reviewed addition and subtraction and students “shopped” in class using the grocery store circular and products teachers purchased from the food pantry list. Students worked within budgets, checked serving sizes and worked together to create a list.
“My experience was not plain, it was fantastic. I love to help people because it makes me feel good,” said LES Student Wyatt Scarberry.
The six participating classes took separate shopping trips during mid-November to purchase the food for donation. Students collected a total of $2,875 in donations, which provided more than 80 Thanksgiving holiday food baskets.
“I was blown away by the generosity and community support.” said LES Teacher Kari Strater. “The students were able to practice real-world skills, being a good citizen, addition and subtraction and reading all in one project. I’m excited to make this a yearly tradition to help feed local families each holiday season.”
