Sunnyvale students are turning a reading assignment into a life lesson.
Two classrooms of fourth and fifth grade students at Cumberland Elementary School are hosting a food drive to help hungry children in their neighborhood.
Weeks ago the students were asked to read “Crenshaw” by Katherine Applegate, in which the main character and his family are forced to live in a van after falling on hard financial times.
The students’ teachers said while the students were building their reading comprehension, they had trouble understanding themes of poverty throughout the book. The median income in Sunnyvale is over $100,000, nearly $40,000 over the state median income according to the 2014 Census.
“We didn’t know what they were going through so we wanted to know more about it,” fifth grader Danella Hohmann said.
So students and their teachers visited nokidhungry.org and learned 16 million kids in America face hunger, and three out of four teachers say they have kids who come to school hungry. The students then decided on their own to do something about it.
More than 30 students worked together to place canned food donation boxes in multiple classrooms and the school library, post signs around school, and present in front of other students about child hunger and the need to help.
A few large boxes have been collected so far. All food collected will be donated to Sunnyvale Community Services.
“I think it’s made them realize that it’s not just about them and our community. That these aren’t kids far away but in this country,” Faure said.
The food drive has been extended to Friday November 6. To donate, contact the Cumberland Elementary School office at 408-522-8255.