Westlake Village’s Carden Conejo School Participates in Annual Hunger Awareness and Action Week

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. - Nov. 27, 2013 - PRLog -- Carden Conejo school, a private school that instructs 205 students from pre-school through eighth-grade in Westlake Village, participated in Ventura County FOOD Share’s “Hunger Awareness and Action Week” that ran from Nov. 18-23. The school come together to tackle food hunger within the community with the slogan, “Hunger Hurts, Help Others”. This is the second year that Carden Conejo has dedicated a week to the social justice issue of hunger where the school encouraged students to engage in a Zero Waste Food Day, by reducing the amount of discarded food.  During the week, Carden students reduced their discarded food by 42 percent.

“Hunger Hurts, Help Others” continued to educate them on food scarcity, but engaged them in direct service with Ventura County’s FOOD Share. The second annual weeklong event pulled in an astounding 2,462 pounds of food, equivalent to 2,051 meals. Compared to 2012, the students collected 109 more pounds of food. In two years, Carden Conejo school has pulled in 4,815 pounds and 4,011 meals.

The service learning initiative didn’t end with the canned food drive.  Carden Conejo dedicated an entire week to the issue to ensure that students could engage in both awareness and action.  Students in grades K-8 sorted the canned food on campus.  Older students helped younger students read labels, search for expiration dates and group the canned goods by food type.   In addition, fourth grade students conducted a self directed bake sale, raising funds to purchase an additional 1,500 meals for families in Ventura County.  Teachers incorporated concepts into the curriculum creating innovative ways to discuss the social justice issue.  A sampling of projects included fifth grade students created graphs and charts sharing poverty rates, first grade math curriculum weaved in weighing and measuring relative to the number of canned goods and all grades visually shared impressions through an art contest.  Plus, students made a paper chain sharing their insights from the week and pledging the ways in which they can eradicate hunger.  On the weekend, students, parents and teachers worked side-by-side at FOOD Share in Oxnard to conduct additional direct service.

“FOOD Share is in awe and gratitude. We consider it a distinct privilege as well as pleasure to be part of this annual event.  Everyone at the Carden Conejo school that we have come in contact with have been so kind, and helpful,” says Meg Horton Volunteer Coordinator of FOOD Share, Inc. FOOD Share provides meals to approximately 45,000 children in Ventura County each month, roughly a 150 percent increase over the past four years.

“It warms my heart to think that we have collected 4,815 pounds of food in two years – or over 4,000 meals for families in Ventura County.  The best part is that the students are beginning to take ownership for the event and starting to brainstorm ideas for next year.  One small school can do anything,” said Dr. Julie Elginer, parent and chair of the weeklong event.

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About FOOD Share:

The food bank distributing millions of pounds of food each year to those in need throughout Ventura County, FOOD Share collects and receives food year-round, distributing through more than 162 pantry partner agencies throughout Ventura County, including Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Oak View, Ojai, Oxnard, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Somis, Thousand Oaks and Ventura.

FOOD Share provides food to more than 74,500 people each month countywide through its partner agencies and multiple programs. Programs include the SENIOR Share that provides supplemental nutrition to nearly 2,000 low income seniors, home delivered meals and supplemental groceries through the Oxnard and Ventura Senior Nutrition Programs and, the Kids’ Farmers’ Markets, offering nutrition education, healthy recipe preparation and taste testing and a farmers’ market free fresh produce “shopping experience.”

In 2011, FOOD Share partnered with VenturaCounty’s Human Services Agency to provide expanded CalFresh enrollment assistance. CalFresh, formerly called food stamps, is the largest federal nutrition assistance program that provides supplemental nutrition assistance to eligible VenturaCounty residents.

In May 2013, FOOD Share established a partnership with Southern California Gas to further expand and support the hungry individuals the food bank serves. The Southern California Gas CARE Program provides a further source of support to individuals and families who are struggling to make ends meet.  The CARE program provides relief through discounted gas utility bills for individuals and families.

For more information: call (805) 983-7100 or go to http://www.foodshare.com

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