Third Graders Get Lessons in Food and Sharing

By Tom Steever

Calvert Elementary School in Lincoln, Neb. is much like many other schools. But as Kathy Schellpeper's third grade class pledged allegiance to start the day, there was a bit more excitement than usual. The young people set out on a small field trip to get a lesson in the cost of Thanksgiving dinner and a lesson in sharing. Mrs. Schellpeper's third graders went grocery shopping.

When Schellpeper got word of the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual Thanksgiving Meal Price Survey she determined it was an opportunity to teach the children the affordability of food in this country. "What better time to think about food and the affordability of food. And so, I thought, we'll put a whole lesson together," said Schellpeper. "We'll go down to the grocery store, we'll buy the food, we'll actually touch it, bring it back here, look at the prices, see how affordable it really was." Many of these students may lack the opportunity to get first hand experience in visiting a farm, according to Mrs. Schellpeper. "I think most children think that food comes from the grocery store," she said. "For a lot of children and people as well, we don't give enough appreciation to the farmers and ranchers who are producing the food."

To augment this lesson on food's value, before setting out for the supermarket, the veteran teacher first had her pupils write down what they anticipated the dinner would cost. Prognostications affixed to the chalkboard on post-it notes ranged from $2.25 to well over $100, however several were in the more realistic range of $20 to $40. Once at the grocery store, the youngsters armed with shopping carts and the surveys fanned out in small groups searching for the traditional Thanksgiving meal items so that prices could be recorded and purchases could be made.

The survey is conducted nationwide every year by the Farm Bureau to track the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner for ten people. This year's survey shows that the cost has come down compared to last year. The ten people can be fed for $32.37. That's $1.46 under last year's cost. A drop in cost of many of the Thanksgiving meal items contributed to the decline. The retail price of turkey is down as well as whole milk and several other items. It became a simple lesson for the class. "You can feed ten people with not a lot of money," said third grader Elizabeth Gealy following the trip to the grocery store.

The culmination of the morning came with a parade of the class, each carrying Thanksgiving grocery items to a waiting truck outside the school. The meal was donated to the Food Bank of Lincoln.

Before she excused the class Schellpeper gathered them near the front of their classroom and asked them to pass the lesson to their friends and family. "Spread the news that we spend less on food than any country in whole world."

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