Service Learning Proposal

Student Names:
Amy Schroeder
Emily Tucker
Creekside Elementary School
School:
PROJECT NAME:
Need
Data Analysis
Why this plan
is needed?

Define the
Purpose
How will this
plan help?
Participation
Who will help?
-Students
-Teachers
-Other
individuals
-Organizations
Target group
What will they
do?

Dude, Donate Some Food!

Since August 2014, the Interchurch food pantry has
served 82% more people per month than they did
in 2013. They have gone from serving 40 people
per day in 2013 to 70 people per day now.
The above data makes it evident that families in
the community increasingly need food. The
weekend food program at the school is not
currently meeting the needs of the school
population, so families at Creekside are included in
those in the community who need food.
It will provide meals for families who are not
currently able to provide enough food on their own.

This service learning project will be implemented

by fourth grade students and their teachers. The
school counselor will collect the food that students
bring to school in her office/the main office area.
The Interchurch Food Pantry would be a good
partnership for this program because they provided
food for 8831 families in Johnson County in 2013.
The target group is families within the school and
community who need help accessing food.
The fourth grade students will make cards/posters,
research information on local food resources and
healthy food, reflect, determine how they want
other grades to participate in the food drive, make
a brochure, count and sort the food, and figure out
how many families the food collected could feed.

The teachers will teach students what reflecting is,

help students with the reflection process, help
students research, help with making cards/posters
(get paper from workroom), help them determine
how they want other grades to participate in the
food drive, help determine the timeline, help collect
the food in classrooms or office area, help with
counting and sorting if needed, and help students
determine how many families the food can feed.
The school counselor will help collect the food and
help take it to the food pantry.
The representative from the Interchurch Food
Pantry, and maybe someone who has
received/currently receives food from the pantry,
will explain to students what they do at the food
pantry and tell them how many families they help.
The representative will also be available to accept
the food.

Define Student
Learning
Outcomes &
Service
Outcomes
Connect to
Learning
Standards
What
readings,
assignments,
reflections are
required?
How will you
assess
outcomes?
Data to collect

The families who need food will access that food at

the food pantry.
Students will increase their research skills by
finding local resources for families to access food.
They will also improve their writing skills by writing
letters, thank you notes, and reflections.
Reflections will also help with self-awareness and
thinking skills. Making posters will also help
students work on their art skills.
3-5.1.1
3-5.1.4
3-5.1.8
3-5.3.2
3-5.3.4
3-5.3.7
3-5.3.9
3-5.3.16
3-5.3.24
3-5.3.31
Students will write written reflections and reflect
orally in groups and as a class. The students will
also research local resources for families to obtain

food, in class and put together a brochure with the

information they find.
We will provide students with a pre and post-test to
assess their knowledge on hunger in the
community and feelings about service learning and
how it impacted them. We will also assess their
knowledge on finding local resources.

Plan Community
Collaboration
Meet and
partner for
intentional
collaboration/
partnership

We will collect the pre and post-test data as well as

determine how many families our collection will
help.
The Interchurch Food Pantry would be a great
collaboration for this project.

Resources
needed
What do you
need to get
the project
completed?

We would need supplies to make the posters,

letters, and thank you cards. We would also need
access to the schools computer lab. We might also
need boxes to keep the food in. We would need
volunteers from the school to transport the food to
the pantry.

Action Plan
Specific
actions with
timelines

A food drive already occurs before the holidays in

December, so it may be best to complete this
service learning project in the Spring or early Fall
when the need for food may be greater.
Day One: A representative from the Interchurch
Food Pantry will come to the school to explain what
they do and the need present in Johnson County.
Perhaps someone who receives food or has
received food in the past could talk to students as
well. Students will then reflect orally with their
class and also write a reflection. At this time the
teachers will also explain reflection since students
may not know what it is and why we do it.
St Week following Day One: Students will locate
local resources where students (and families) can

access food (free meals and food pantries). They

will include the Interchurch Food Pantry and also
find other resources. During this research time
students will also research and discuss healthy food
choices and talk about bringing healthy food for the
drive. Students will then reflect on the process of
finding resources and perhaps even the food
choices they make in their own lives in regard to
how healthy those choices are.
W Within a Week of the Above: Students will make
a brochure explaining how to access food and
where families can go to get it. The brochure will
also provide statistics about how many families
access these resources, to help families feel more
comfortable accessing food.
As soon as above is done (same week or
following week): Students will then come up with
a timeline for a food drive at the school. They will
determine how they want the other grades to
participate in the food drive. Students will then
reflect on this process and what it was like working
with others.
As soon as the timeline is established (within
a week): Students will then write letters/make
flyers explaining the food drive and the need for
food in the community and distribute around the
school. They will also give the letters to family and
friends.
Allow Two or Three Weeks for Collection:
Students will collect the food and bring it to school.
They will put it in the counselors office (or
elsewhere in the office area of the school) to avoid
other students seeing who does/doesnt bring in
food. (If this is not a specific concern, food could be
collected in the classrooms.)
Upon Completion of Food Collection: Once all
the food has been collected, the students will
separate it and count how many items were
collected. At this time students will also reflect on
the entire process of making posters/cards,
distributing them, collecting food, and sorting and
counting the food. Members of the school

faculty/staff will deliver the food to the food pantry.

Also, if some of the food is going to be given
directly to school families, the counselor will
organize this.
Same Week as Counting and Sorting: Next,
students will determine how many families (on
average) their food can feed based on information
from the Interchurch Food Pantry and other
resources.
Within a Week of Final Day of Collection:
Students will make thank you cards to give to the
classrooms and to friends and family members who
donated. They will also make posters to put up in
the school. Students will reflect on their feelings
throughout the entire process.
The project should take about 5-7 weeks
altogether.
Deliver
Reflect
Document

Assess &
Evaluate

Proposal
Approved by:

A meeting with teachers could help determine the

interest level of students and if students have
gained knowledge/skill in the above standards. It
could also determine if the teachers think the
project was worthwhile and what changes could
occur to make the project better. Also, determining
if the project truly helped meet the need in the
community could be an important part of reflecting
on the project. All of the above would help
determine if the project was a success.
To document the project, pictures could be taken of
how much food was collected. Pictures could also
be taken of the posters and cards that the students
make. The brochure could also be used as
documentation.
We will use the pre and post-test to determine
student outcomes. We will also look at student
grades to determine if there was an impact in this
area. We will also give students a self-evaluation to
see how they feel about the impact they can make
on their community.