Life Lessons from Children

“While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.”~Angela Schwindt

Each day, thousands of people in San Francisco and Marin struggle to feed themselves and their families. Luckily, from time to time, the San Francisco Food Bank receives help in the form of some of our youngest supporters.  The energy and resourcefulness of these children — some as young as seven —  serve as an inspiration to those of us more advanced in our years.

Thanks to various service-learning projects, the children mentioned below have voiced their concern for access to nutritious food at school while others have raised thousands of dollars and helped provide food to help those in need.

Phoebe: When 5-year old Phoebe set out to complete her preschool graduation community service project, she set herself a goal she called “really big.” She was determined to raise $1,000 for the San Francisco Food Bank.  That quickly grew once word of her project spread across the internet, inspiring many to join her in her efforts.  Phoebe’s preschool project has raised over $20,000 and 30,000 lbs. in food donations for the San Francisco Food Bank in just over a year!  This is enough to provide food for close to 120,000 meals to those in need in San Francisco and Marin. And, with guidance from their teacher, Kathleen Albert, this year’s graduating class at With Care Child Care is once again collecting cans to raise money for the San Francisco Food Bank!

Brandeis Hillel Day School: What started as a fun, generous idea by a then-first grader to open a hot chocolate stand and donate the earnings to the San Francisco Food Bank has grown into an annual service-learning project.  That stand has grown into an effort that involves the entire second grade class in  “Cafe Brandeis,”  a service-learning project that has raised over a thousand dollars for the San Francisco Food Bank.

San Francisco Unified School District: The Child  Nutrition Act is up for debate, and it’s an opportunity to positively impact millions of children nationwide.  Hundreds of SFUSD students wrote their appeals for healthier school meals on paper plates delivered to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.