Saturday At The Food Pantry, written by Diane O'Neill and illustrated by Brizida Magro

 




Publisher's Description:

"Molly and her mom don’t always have enough food, so one Saturday they visit their local food pantry. Molly’s happy to get food to eat until she sees her classmate Caitlin, who’s embarrassed to be at the food pantry. Can Molly help Caitlin realize that everyone needs help sometimes?"

Text Features: 

  • Informational picture book.
  • Additional back matter about the topic of food insecurity.

Critical Literacy Suggestions:

Read & Discuss: 
  • BEFORE reading: discuss what students might know already about food pantries (what are they? where are they? who goes to them? why do people go to food pantries?)
  • DURING reading: ask students to listen out for reasons why people go to the food pantry and how they feel about it. 
  • AFTER reading: 
    Discuss with students what feelings they noticed different characters having and why they think they were experiencing those feelings. For example:
    • What did Caitlin feel when she saw Molly? Why? 
    • What did Molly's mom feel when Molly asked to get cookies? Why? 
    • What did Molly's mom feel when the man at the counter gave them a box of cookies? Why?
Discuss the repeated line: "Everybody needs help sometimes" What kind of help do different people in the book need and give? (food, art, companionship) Who gave it to them? What kind of help do your friends and family give you? What help do you give others? 

Discuss the topic of Food Insecurity and some of the reasons that people experience it. Actively anticipate and counter stereotypes children might have about who experiences food insecurity.


Write & Act: 
  • Create a Ways To Help paper quilt! Each student draws a way they like to help others at school or in their family. Connect these together and come up with a name for your quilt. Display your quilt to encourage helping in your community.

Learn More:

  • Visit the publisher's website for the official Teacher's Guide for Saturday At The Food Pantry and to learn more about the author and illustrator.
  • Visit the website Feeding America to learn more about where people experiencing food insecurity can get help. 

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