We are really big on teaching our kids about giving (I wrote a post about it last December that you can find here), but it was still a sweet surprise when S asked if we could please do something for the homeless people we sometimes pass on the street. I wanted to maximize the effect of what we could do, so I settled on $10 as our price point. I considered shelf life, lack of access to refrigeration/heat sources, nutrition, and ease of preparation when putting this together. I also wanted it to be easy for others to put together in case any of you would like to do this project with your children.
I settled on Target, because I know their brand, Market Pantry, has exceptionally low prices. Walmart or a local grocery store with their own brand would also work well. I also thought about packaging - I wanted to make use of every part of the care package. I settled on putting everything in a reusable grocery bag as that would continue to be useful as a strong storage bag even after the food was consumed.
We bought the following per $10 Care Package:
one 2.5 pound jar of Market Pantry Peanut Butter ($4.39)
one box of Market Pantry Wheat Crackers ($1.50)
two pouches (rather than cans, since most homeless people won't have access to can openers) of Tuna Fish ($1.24 each)
one 6-pack of Market Pantry raisins ($1.29)
one reusable grocery bag ($0.99)
If you'd like, here's a Free Printable Shopping List of the above items (plus ideas for more).
If you'd like to add some additional food, cereals, granola bars, nuts, and other dried fruits or meats would all be great choices.
S helped me assemble each kit and load them into our car. She also helps me hand the kits out.
What a great idea! I love that it's something the kids can see through from start to finish- shopping for and assembling the kits and also handing them out. I think I'll share this with our co-op director- we're brainstorming projects to get our preschoolers involved in giving back to the community this fall. This would be perfect!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephanie!!! :) :) :)
DeleteSo sweet. This would be a great Sunday School project too.
ReplyDeleteOh, great idea, Five4FiveMeals!
DeleteSuper idea!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Valerie!
DeleteThis is such a wonderful idea and even better since the whole family was included!
ReplyDeleteThanks for encouraging others to serve with their families. ;)
Thank you! :)
DeleteThis is a great activity, it always helps my kids appreciate what they have.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
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