A Program Lets Elementary Students Share Their Snacks With the Homeless
At the Share Table kids learn compassion
In a world that’s becoming increasingly divisive by the hour when it comes to politics and social issues, sharing food is universally agreed upon as an act of kindness and empathy. After all, breaking bread with someone, offering a coworker a few chips from your bag, or volunteering at a soup kitchen can be a simple gesture but is ultimately rewarding deep down in the soul.
That’s why the concept of the Sharing Table is so lovely.
The program was started by Food Rescue US South Florida for two reasons, according to Food Rescue‘s Ellen Schmertz Bowen: to help kids learn compassion and to put unused food in Miami-Dade schools to good use. “The idea was, instead of throwing out your snacks, other students could take it or it would go to Lotus House (a local women’s shelter),” she says.
The execution is simple: A table is set up in the school’s cafeteria where students can drop off their unopened snacks and, if they want, take something more appealing. Anything left over is collected and sent over to Lotus House or a similar organization. Basically, it’s a more formal version of the age-old schoolyard and lunchroom tradition of trading your bologna sandwich for a peanut butter crustable.
Bowen says the program has been in the works for four years. “I pitched it over four years ago. We did a pilot at North Beach Elementary School with a teacher who was an advisor for the Kindness Club. It was a big hit and COVID came and the schools are closed.”
Bowen says that it’s taken her until now to get the program up and running. But a few weeks ago, the Miami-Dade Board of Education decided that the Sharing Table was a wonderful teaching moment. “It shows in a practical way how food waste impacts the environment and how food waste has a major climate change impact,” says the program director.
The program has just launched this past week at two elementary schools and will grow to include a middle school and a high school — all in Miami-Dade County — for now. “We’re starting small to see if the program is meaningful and if it’s scaleable,” says Bowen.
The students seem to have taken to the project. “My experience with the students is that they know about food waste and climate change and homelessness and they want to help,” says Bowen, adding, “What I saw is that the students are so grateful that something is being done.”
And the impact transcends all ages, according to Bowen. “Yesterday, a first grader came up to me and asked if the leftovers were going to the homeless. Even a six-year-old knows what hunger and homelessness are and we’re giving them a solution.”
So far, the program is in its infancy, with the kids donating some snacks and a lot of the fruit that comes with their school lunch. But, according to Bowen, that fruit is perfect for distributing to shelters. “The oranges are precut and presented in sealed bags, so they’re perfect for taking over to the homeless shelter. You may feel this is a waste, but for someone living on the street to have a fresh orange? It’s a treat.”
And, like most programs, while the school district is supportive, it all comes down to funding. “Right now, I’m funding the setup, which is a tablecloth and bins and signage. But we need volunteers to pick up the bins and people to fund the program. I’d be thrilled if someone stepped up and said, ‘Let’s get this to 20 schools’,” says Bowen.
In the end, says Bowen, the Sharing Table benefits the community and the students who learn about climate change, recycling, food waste — and compassion. “This is an educational piece. We just launched it and the feedback is great. The next step is taking it to the next level — and possibly national.”
To donate to the Sharing Table, contact Food Rescue U.S. South Florida at foodrescue.us/site/food-rescue-us-south-florida or email ellen@foodrescue.us.
Thank you Its a good start kids know instinctively whats right giving them that rewarding experience is precious & desperately needed & everyone wins like a program I remember matching seniors in assisted living w/ foster kids or orphans who just need a caring human or non violent prisoners w/ pets to train. All these humanity positive programs serve us all . So again thank you. Hope many are inspired 🙏☮️❤️🔥Just a thought ,blessings & best wishes
Exposing kids ,(anyone for that matter in this rat race )to as much compassion as we can eill inform the future for all of us may avert other disastrous horrors we see around us ☮️🙏