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by Helen HallKitchener Citizen
There are children who will never need to use a food bank and therefore don’t appreciate its importance. The Food Bank of Waterloo Region is hoping its new board game called Hungry? will help them to understand.
This board game was developed by the food bank and the board and playing pieces were designed by students in the graphic design program at Conestoga College in 2010. The students worked on the game as part of a 24-hour marathon called CreateAthon, where students provide free marketing and creative services for local non-profits.
It is geared toward students in grades 7 and 8.
It is a realistic game of life where families have a salary that they use to pay their bills and buy the necessities of life.
However, real problems (like having your job go from full-time to part-time) affect their ability to pay and sometimes they have to use the food bank to survive.
The game also encourages people to give to the food bank when times are good, or the shelves will be empty when someone needs to use it.
The food bank’s Manager of Community Partnerships Ruth Friendship-Keller said the board game is currently in its “pilot
phase” and it is being presented to students for their feedback.
The food bank has hired University of Waterloo Co-op student
Lauren Seifried to work on the game during its pilot phase. She is a second year Arts and Business student. Seifried’s job was to find high school facilitators who will take the game to grade 7 and 8 classrooms.
She has trained 20 high school facilitators who work in groups of four. They are from Grand River, Forest Heights, Bluevale, Cameron Heights, Sir John A. MacDonald and Kitchener Collegiate.
Last week, these students had the opportunity to try out their leadership skills by presenting the Hungry? game to students from Laurelwood Public School who were touring the food bank.
“Once I’m gone,” Seifried said “it will be a case of train the trainer.” She explained that these high school student facilitators will be able to show younger high school students how to take their place working with the grade 7 and 8 students.
Seifried said the facilitators will head out to Kitchener and Waterloo schools on March 9 and March 28 to try it in the classrooms.
The game was funded through a $7,000 grant from the Libro Financial Group’s Community Builder Program, which supports projects that give youth the opportunity to develop leadership and career skills.
In 2011, Libro Financial distributed $357,000 from its profits through the Community Builder Program.
Lynn Cameron, manager of the Libro Financial Group’s branch on Fischer-Hallman Road dropped by the food bank to see the Laurelwood students testing out the game.
She said watching the university student Seifried train the high school facilitators, who then worked with the elementary school students, showed that this project is a “textbook case” of how the Community Builders Program develops leadership skills for youth.
“It was a beautful thing to see,” she said.
Libro is now taking applications for its 2012 Community Builder Program grants. The application deadline is March 15, 2012.
Assessment criteria and applications forms, as well as a list of previous winners, are located on Libro Financial Group’s website www.libro.ca.
HUNGRY?
Board game teaches students the importance of having - and supporting - a food bank
Board game teaches students the importance of having - and supporting - a food bank
Grand River Collegiate student Rachel Wagner (centre) teaches Laurelwood students Azeem Azhar (left) and Tatiana Tait how to play the Food Bank of Waterloo Region’s board game called Hungry?