The Akiva School Grade 6 Goes Shopping for Hunger with MAZON Canada
Students learn about the significance of “Birkat Hamazon”; giving thanks for the food that we get every day.
May 10, 2013 – Akiva Grade 6 students went shopping today at the Metro Super market in Westmount with the small budget of $75.00 and the big job of buying enough to put food on the table for family of four for a week. The objective of the shopping trip was to give students a better appreciation of the food that they eat and, sometimes take for granted, every day. The trip was part of a class project done in conjunction with MAZON Canada, a national Jewish Organization responding to hunger. The project, proposed by MAZON Canada’s Development Officer, Ruth Tovim, was enthusiastically taken on by Eric Cohen, Akiva Grade 6 Judaic Studies teacher, who integrated it into the Akiva Grade 6’s learning of Birkat Hamazon, the Jewish blessing recited after eating a meal to give thanks for the food eaten, the land and G-d that provided it.
“Our goal is to help our students understand how lucky they are to have their 3 meals each day and give them an appreciation how many of families in the communities around us struggle on a daily basis to provide for themselves,” said Eric Cohen, Akiva Grade 6 teacher. “Akiva is so grateful to MAZON Canada for helping us with this project. We hope it will help show our students some of the realities that exist today, what an important role organizations such as MAZON Canada play and inspire them to get involved to make a difference in the world around them.”
“I was blown away by how wholeheartedly the students took on the project and the insights they expressed both during the discussions we had when preparing for the shopping trip and after the actual experience,” said Ruth Tovim, Development Officer, Mazon Canada.
“While doing this amazing project, I realized that there are so many people that are not fortunate to eat 3 meals a day,” said Eddie Mendelssohn, Akiva Grade 6 student.
“I thought it was a really awesome experience to understand what families less fortunate that I have to go through”, said Talia Kliot, Akiva Grade 6 student.
About The Akiva School
Originally founded in 1968 by a group of committed parents led by Rabbi David Hartman, The Akiva School is a Jewish Elementary School dedicated to enabling every child to reach his or her highest potential in terms of academic success, personal growth and engagement in Judaism. Through a strong partnership of school and home, The Akiva School fosters a nurturing and collaborative educational environment to promote a love of learning and creative, independent thinking. For more information on The Akiva School, please visit our web site at www.akivaschool.com
About MAZON Canada
MAZON Canada was founded by Leonard Fein on the 3% principle. This means we ask our supporters to donate 3% of the food costs of any simcha or milestone event so we can allocate those funds to the hungry. This work began in 1986 by encouraging the Jewish community to “symbolically invite a hungry stranger to their table” and later branched out to other fundraising avenues, including special events, appeals at holidays and the sale of occasion cards. Over the last 25 years we have raised over $7 million and helped thousands of Canada through hundreds of programs.
