New lesson plans from Kids Can Make a Difference (KIDS) aim to help students around the world understand the root causes of hunger. The program, called Hunger Now, encourages young people to take action towards eliminating food insecurity in their communities.

KIDS is a program of the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN), the world’s largest global nonprofit global network. Larry and Jane Levine founded KIDS in 1994 to teach middle school students in Maine about constructive responses to famine and hunger.

Today KIDS and iEARN partner to publish teacher guides – resources for educators to teach students about poverty and inequality – that have since reached thousands of schools worldwide.

KIDS and iEARN are now adding 20 new lesson plans to the existing teacher guides in an effort to reflect the world’s current circumstances. Mary Brownell, Project Facilitator for Hunger Now, tells Food Tank that the lesson plans are “trying to look at how prevalent hunger is and how swept under the rug it can be.”

Hunger Now’s new lesson plans aim to foster collaboration between educators around the world teaching about hunger, especially in light of COVID-19’s restrictions on educational practices. Using iEARN’s project platform, teachers can connect while building a pedagogical approach that helps their students understand hunger’s pervasiveness.

Read the full article about helping kids understand hunger by Maya Osman-Krinsky at Food Tank.