We all have the right to food and we hope that this resource will inspire your children to join our call for a fair food system and an end to global hunger. This resource is aimed at upper Key Stage 2, but many activities and questions can be adapted for younger children.

Makuu’s storyLike many thirteen year olds, Makuu loves football. He can name all the Real Madrid players and the positions in which they play. In his spare time, Makuu kicks around a ball made of plastic bags and string with his friend Murambo.

Makuu lives in Eastern Kenya and last year, during the drought, he had little energy for playing football: “People did not have enough food to eat. At times, we skipped lunch and we’d go without eating. When I was hungry I felt bad, I didn’t feel satisfied. Missing lunch made me feel sick and tired. Sometimes I couldn’t concentrate.”

Since 1979, many people in the area have relied on food aid. Many children have known nothing else and important skills, like how to grow vegetables, have been lost. People have less chance of surviving a drought if they have very low incomes and can’t grow food. So a CAFOD partner has supplied water tanks, seeds and training for schools in the area. Now Makuu helps to run a school vegetable garden.

Makuu’s teacher, John Matua, says: “Aid is not enough; it will not solve a problem. We have to educate people and develop our country.”

Makuu values learning skills for the future and is looking forward to harvesting the crop in his plot: “Sometimes maize flour is

all we have for dinner and it is enough; but, of course, I’m looking forward to eating the vegetables!”

HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE:

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l Introduce the Hungry for change campaign to the children using Makuu’s story. Discuss the questions.

l Work through the activities and questions with the children to increase their understanding of why people are hungry and what needs to change.

l Encourage the children to take action and write messages to the Prime Minister for a fair food system.

Food is essential for life. Yet around 870 million people worldwide go hungry, even though we

produce enough food for everyone. That means in our world, one person in eight is hungry.

Questions for discussionl How do you think Makuu felt during the drought?

l How do you think Makuu feels now?

l In what way have things changed for Makuu and his community? What has brought about this change?

A full photo story of Makuu can be found on Picture my World, CAFOD’s website for children: picturemyworld.cafod.org.uk/food

WHY ARE PEOPLE HUNGRY?There are many reasons why one in eight people go hungry. But poverty and a lack of power underpin all the reasons for hunger. Having nothing to fall back on means that the poorest people are more vulnerable to disasters.

Emergency aid is important and often saves lives, but if we want to end global hunger, emergency aid alone is not enough.

Questions for discussionl Why is emergency aid not enough?

Teacher note: Whilst emergency aid is important and saves lives, it doesn’t provide a lasting solution – to end global hunger we need to change the way the food system works. Discuss the story of Makuu – here, a community that previously relied on food aid, is being empowered to grow their own food and lift themselves out of poverty.

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?Small-scale farmers need support to lift themselves out of poverty by being able to successfully grow and sell food.

Suggested activitiesl Try growing your own food in school. What do you need to successfully grow things?

Global food companies (who make, distribute and sell food) must be open about how they do business. We want them to treat small-scale farmers and workers fairly and make sure they are paid a living wage.

Suggested activitiesl Research who the global food companies are.

l Play the Banana Split game to introduce children to the banana chain (what happens to a banana before it reaches the consumer) and to discuss the reality of ‘who gets what’ from the sale of bananas. Available at cafod.org.uk/primary/food

We must be willing to change our own lifestyles, for example by changing the food we buy or the amount we waste, to show we want a fairer food system.

Teacher note: Since we are all part of the global food system, this means we have the power to change it by the actions that we do. This is an important point to discuss with the children.

Suggested activitiesl Ask children to think about a typical meal. Research where the food for that meal has come from (much of our

food has travelled thousands of miles).

l Research what is meant by local, sustainable, and Fairtrade food. Think about the benefits of each. Hold a debate on what type of food we should buy, for example buying Fairtrade versus locally-produced food.

l In small groups, plan ways of living more simply or reducing waste.

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“�Jesus�took�the�five�loaves�and�the�two�fish,�raised�his�eyes�to�heaven�and�said�

the�blessing�…�They�all�ate�as�much�as�they�wanted.”�Matthew�14:19-20

Five loaves and two fish, blessed and broken by Jesus and shared among the people, were multiplied into enough food for five thousand. Working with our neighbours, in the way that Jesus showed us, our hunger for change can transform our world.

Suggested activitiesl Discuss the quote from Matthew 14: 19-20.

l Research other places in the Bible where food was shared.

l Discuss why, as Christians, our faith compels us to take action alongside our sisters and brothers living in poverty.

HOW TO USE THE LOAF AND FISH

Take it!

1. Photocopy and cut out the fish template on the final page of this leaflet.

2. On one side of the fish write your own message to David Cameron.

3. Send your fish to CAFOD and we will send it on to the Prime Minister.

Share it!

1. Give copies of the loaf template to somebody else, for example parents, friends, or children in another class or school.

2. Tell them Makuu’s story and get them to write messages to the Prime Minister too.

3. Ask them to return the loaves to CAFOD – or they could return them to you or to school, to return to CAFOD.

Multiply it!Why not make a fantastic display of your loaves and fish in your school or church entrance, where it will be seen by lots of people? You could decorate your fish and attach them to the wall on fishing nets or strung from fishing lines. You could put the loaves in a basket or on a ‘supermarket’ shelf. Leave blank loaf templates near the display, so that even more people can take action!

Send photos of your displays to: schools@cafod.org.uk

Don’t forget…Tell us who did this action. We can use what you tell us to motivate even more people to act for change. If it’s easier, you could send in the slip below:

Taking it furtherThe Hungry for change campaign will last throughout this Year of Faith. You will have plenty of time to learn more about the global food system and to campaign and fundraise with CAFOD. There are already a wide range of materials online, including a Harvest Fast Day video. We will supply you with even more resources in the coming months, including a film of Makuu for use during Lent, and liturgies and activities that you could run in your school or group.

For teaching resources on food visit: cafod.org.uk/primary/food

Children can learn more about food on Picture my World, CAFOD’s website for children. Visit: picturemyworld.cafod.org.uk/food

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Name of person sending in the loaves and fishes:

Contact email:

Name and address of group:

Number who took part:

Ages of those who took part:

Return your loaves and fish before 1 October 2013 to: CAFOD Campaigns team, Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JB, and we will send them on to the Prime Minister along with thousands of others.

Governments have the power to make sure global food companies are open and fair about how they do business.

Who has the greatest power to decide how food is shared?

The way that food is grown, sold and shared out is not working for the world’s people. We have the power to change this!

Who feeds half the people in the world? Small-scale farmers.

TEMPLATES

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Dear Prime Minister,

One in eight people don’t have enough to eat, even though the world produces enough food to feed everyone.

The food system is failing the poorest people because global companies hold most of the power.

We can change this. Please ask our government to call for:

l Support for small-scale farmers to lift themselves out of poverty.

l Global food companies to be more open about how they do business.

(Please write your own message to David Cameron on the back of this image)

Dear Prime Minister,

One in eight people don’t have enough to eat, even though the world produces enough food to feed everyone.

The food system is failing the poorest people because global companies hold most of the power.

We can change this. Please ask our government to call for:

l Support for small-scale farmers to lift themselves out of poverty.

l Global food companies to be more open about how they do business.

(Please write your own message to David Cameron on the back of this image)

cafod.org.uk/hungryCAFOD, Romero House, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London SE1 7JBTel: 020 7733 7900 Fax: 020 7274 9630 Email: cafod@cafod.org.uk

Photography: Annie Bungeroth

CAFOD is the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. Registered Charity No. 285776.

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Photocopy and cut out this fish and write your own message to the Prime Minister on the back.

Photocopy and cut out this loaf and give it to a friend. Tell them about Hungry for change and ask them to write a message to the Prime Minister on the reverse.

Visit cafod.org.uk/hungry for more resources on food.