I’ve been doing a little bit of prep work for November.

That’s the trick, obviously. Accomplishing even the simplest Kitchen Table Projects as a family, much less more involved efforts in the community, requires a quick look ahead now and then. Using the Doing Good Together book by DGT’s founder and director Jenny Friedman, our family is turning November into Help the Hungry month.

We’re committing five to ten minutes a day for a month, and November seemed like a good choice. What better month to focus on helping the hungry? Between the pumpkin pies and sugar cookies, hearty soups and homemade bread, and, yes, the turkey, food doesn’t get much better than it is in November.

For those of us lucky enough to fill the pantry without difficulty.

Beginning next Tuesday, Little Miss Four, Miss Kindergarten, their dad, and I will take a minute before bedtime to do some counting. For example, on day one we will count the pairs of shoes we each have; on day fifteen we’ll count how many closets are in our house; and on day twenty-eight we’ll count how many hats we each have. Each day, we’ll put that number of pennies in a nearby jar (I still have to snag a roll of shiny new pennies from the bank so we don’t end up robbing our other change for charity collection).

We’re pledging to donate a dime per penny at the end of the month to our local food shelf (we’ll bump it up if we need to at the end, but some of the days might pull in pretty big numbers, i.e. count the number of books in your house).

I love this project, because it gives young children such a tangible sense of the stuff we’re surrounded by while reminding us of the needs of others. It’s also a fun, mathy activity for little kids.

We’ll also be reading a children’s book or two on the subject of hunger and tackling the suggested talking points throughout the month:

• What do you think of these daily hunger activities? Why?
• Why is it hard to picture what it’s like to be hungry if your needs are always met?
• Why do you think some people don’t get enough food to eat?
• Why is it important to help hungry people?
• What else could we do to help those who are hungry?

Help the Hungry is project number 92 in the Doing Good Together book, so if you happen to have a copy, fallow along with us.

Or follow Doing Good Together on  Facebook or Twitter and I’ll send you the countable items for each day.

Tags: Help the Hungry Month, Improving Lives

About Sarah

Sarah Aadland is striving to make family volunteering a meaningful habit for her family of five. Join the conversation as she ponders what they may (or may not have) learned and looks for helpful information about raising compassionate kids.Though she plans to one day put her Masters in Public Policy back to work for social justice, she sees family volunteering as a way to build a stronger community, a better world, and a more connected family. In addition to her children, Sarah tends a large garden, a small flock of chickens, and a habit of mindfulness amid the necessary rituals of parenting.

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