As we enter the season of gifts and eating, it’s easy for kids to lose track of the whole “giving” part. With dreams of Christmas morning, letters to Santa, and an Amazon wish list as long as their arm, kids get caught up in the receiving end of this season. One way we bring balance to this situation in our family is through a reverse advent calendar filled with items to give to a food bank. It really is a perfect way to help even the youngest kids get into the spirit of giving while filling a very real need – serving hungry families in the local community.
In this article, we’ll go over using a reverse advent calendar, provide a sample reverse advent calendar for you to download and print, discuss the best ways to support your local food bank, and highlight the benefits of teaching giving, volunteering, and kindness to our kids. So let’s get into it!
Teach kids kindness at Christmas and all year round with Kindness Coloring Pages.
What is a Reverse Advent Calendar?
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. An advent calendar is traditionally started on December 1st. Generally coming in some type of box, kids open a window and are rewarded with a small treat each day leading up to Christmas Day. This is often chocolate, but we’ve also done advent calendars with tiny puzzles, Lego figures, toy cars, etc.
A reverse advent calendar does the opposite. Each day you’re encouraged to donate something. Usually reverse advent calendars are food related as a way to help food banks fill their shelves during this especially needy season. Each day suggests food items to add to your donation box, then at the end of the advent period, the box is delivered to a local food pantry. Our family first heard about this last year, and we’ll never miss it again.
There are different ways to use a reverse advent calendar. You don’t have to wait until December 1st, and in fact I encourage you not to wait. Do it as soon as possible. Hunger doesn’t happen only at Christmas, and we want to make sure people have food during the holidays. You can also go shopping all at once for all the items, then immediately take them to your food bank. Let the kids pick out the items and check them off one by one as you shop. Ask them to think about what other kids would like. You can also do it the traditional way, and take items from your own personal pantry one day at a time to make giving a prominent daily thought. Whatever works best for your family is the right way to do it.
Using a Reverse Advent Calendar to Make a Difference
Reverse advent calendars are an easy way to help kids learn about the real problem of hunger, understand that they can help, and how to do it. This is a life lesson that they can implement readily that actually makes a difference. But we don’t just want to give donations for the sake of giving – we want the items we donate to genuinely be helpful for a struggling family. Here are some ways you can be sure that your giving has the greatest impact.
Give for Greatest Needs
Needs vary throughout the year, as do local needs. Find out what the pantry near you needs the most, and edit your reverse advent calendar accordingly. Many times they will have a list posted on their website or social media pages. Don’t forget to check back with them and continue to support them the rest of the year. Sign up for their email list to stay current on their needs through every season and continue to donate as you have the ability.
Earlier is Better
Don’t wait until the day before Christmas to deliver your box of donations. Pantries need to process items received, sort the donations, compile boxes with a range of products, and fill in the gaps where they are short. I encourage everyone to start their reverse advent calendar early so volunteers have enough time to get the work done. (Even better, offer to help them sort and bag!)
Items to Avoid
If possible, avoid items in glass jars that can more easily break in transport. You’ll also want to opt for items that are healthier – try not to fill your box with junk food. Always double check expiration dates to be sure that items are not out of date. Also, do not donate any homemade food, jars or cans without labels, or anything that requires refrigeration. This is a great article on donation do’s and don’ts.
Personal Care Needs
Some products that people use every day are often forgotten when it comes to pantry donations. Yes, most people will include a box of cereal, pasta, and sauce. But beyond things to eat, families need other household items. Your local food pantry may desperately need donations like feminine pads, diapers, baby wipes, toilet paper, toothpaste, soap, hand lotion, shampoo, and paper towels. Be sure to add some of these items to your box of donations.
Opt for Easy Open
Help reduce the stress level of recipients by making the items you donate easy to open. If you have a choice between canned goods that have an easy open top or cans that require a can opener, go for the pull tab. In some situations, a family may not have a can opener. (Imagine a family fleeing domestic violence or has lost their home and is living in a hotel or even on the street.)
Volunteer Opportunities
Pantries and other organizations that provide groceries and services to families in need are always looking for volunteers. Giving your time is a life-changing activity, both for those you’re serving and for your own life and family. Don’t forget that you can also donate technical skills by assisting with their website, etc. (Most organizations require volunteers to be a certain age, so your kids may or not be able to join you. But they will see you helping.)
Beyond the Reverse Advent Calendar
It’s easy for kids to understand that people need food and that giving grocery items to a pantry will help. But there are other ways to fight hunger, too. Food banks can often negotiate much lower prices for bulk products, so giving financially can actually be more effective (but has less impact on the minds of children). You can also share the needs of your local pantry on social media and organize a group donation for maximum impact.
Teach kids giving with a reverse advent calendar, and teach kindness with Kindness Coloring Pages.
Hunger in America: Facts and How to Help
Christmas is a great time to get started thinking about and taking action to fight hunger. But hunger isn’t limited to Thanksgiving or Christmas Day. All year long, families struggle. Especially in the face of rising food prices, simply having enough to eat is a challenge for a growing number of Americans. The double whammy of Covid-19 and inflation has created an even worse hunger problem for the United States than ever before.
Hunger By the Numbers
According to FeedingAmerica.org, 49 million people received help from food banks in the year 2022. 14 million children in America are considered food insecure – that’s one in five kids. Even in the wealthiest of places, no county in America is untouched by hunger. You can see how hunger impacts your area by looking up your area on this hunger map. You may be surprised by what you find. While you’re on their website, consider signing up for their email list so you can keep up with hunger trends in the U.S. and different ways you and your family can help.
The Widespread Impact of Hunger
While the homeless may come to mind when we think of those who don’t have enough to eat, there are actually a wide and varied number of Americans that find themselves in this position. The chronically ill, mentally ill, and those experiencing unemployment often seek help with groceries. Hunger is a problem faced by people in all phases of life, from children in poverty to college students to the elderly. City dwellers and rural citizens alike deal with hunger. When we donate to our local food pantry, we are giving to our neighbors. To kids our kids go to school with. To veterans. To strangers. In the wealthiest nation on earth, none should deal with hunger. Give today, and get your kids involved!
Top Pantry Needs to Donate
While it’s always best to find out what your local pantry needs, there are some items that you can always count on being in demand, no matter the time of year. Consider adding a few extra of these items on your next visit to the grocery store to donate:
- Canned chicken and tuna
- Peanut butter
- Canned beans
- Canned fruits
- Canned vegetables
- Baby formula
- Rice and pasta
- Instant mashed potatoes
- Pasta sauce
- Crackers
- Shelf-stable milk and milk alternatives
- Canned soup and chili
- Cereal and instant oatmeal
- Granola bars and protein bars
- Personal hygiene items
- Baby products
- Cooking oils and spices
- Instant meals
- Apple sauce pouches
- Jam and jelly
How Giving Helps Shape Resilient Kids
As parents, we often want answers to milestone questions like when do kids learn to tie shoes and when do kids learn left and right. And those things are important! But we also want to consider deeper questions like how do kids learn sharing and gratitude? Is reading a simple thank you poem good enough to learn appreciation? How do we make sure we are raising kind children that turn into loving and generous adults?
My answer to these social aspects of raising kids is always to start by leading by example. Using this pantry calendar and letting kids help create a box to donate is a prime way to do this. Kids understand eating, and can more easily imagine what it’s like to feel hunger but have nothing to eat than other types of challenges. But beyond “getting it” giving to a local pantry is something they can do right away, and that they can easily help with. You can go from concept to action to solution in a single day.
Like experience gifts for kids, volunteering and giving have a long-term impact on children. Here are some of the ways these activities help kids grow into stronger, more resilient, and more helpful citizens.
Making Connections and Social Skills
Giving – and especially volunteer work – helps kids form strong bonds with others. Whether they’re working with other kids or adults, the connections they make build social skills and create a stronger personal network. Kids can later call on these connections for help with school work, career advice, jobs, and more later in life. Volunteering also gives kids a chance to spend time with people of all ages from different backgrounds, of different races, and different personalities and viewpoints. These connections help children learn how to work with all kinds of people.
Learning Leadership
It may seem counterintuitive, but learning to take direction from others can actually turn kids into leaders. By seeing strong leaders in action in a volunteering scenario, kids learn how to develop those skills within themselves. Volunteer opportunities are also great places for older kids to get experience in leadership positions. They can also act as mentors for younger volunteers, and maybe even be inspired to start their own charitable endeavors some day!
Empathy and Gratitude
The top and most expected benefits of giving and volunteering for kids are the development of empathy and gratitude. Especially for kids who have never known a moment of want in their lives, seeing the other side of life can help them see all the rich resources and opportunities they have access to, cultivating a sense of deep and profound appreciation. Working with other kids or families who are in need and seeing that they are not any different from themselves helps to develop empathy and understanding, skills that will only serve to benefit them and everyone around them as they become adults.
Improved School Performance
Interestingly, student volunteers show a number of improvements in their academic careers. Kids who volunteer have lower dropout rates, improved reading grades, reduced course failure and academic suspensions. (They even have lower rates of teen pregnancy!) As they grow up, volunteering gives kids real world experience that they can use toward applying for jobs and for admission to higher education.
Confidence and Self-Esteem
There’s long been a connection between giving and volunteering and better mental health. This also holds true for the youngest among us! A desire to help others is deeply part of us as human beings. When we feed that instinct it gives us a sense of purpose, value, and self-worth. All these feeling come together to feed confidence and self-esteem for young people. It can also lead them not feel ashamed to ask for help when they need it.
So between fielding questions like “what rhymes with taco?”, jetting off to sports, plays, and programs, and navigating endless requests for a new Pokémon coloring book, squeeze in a day or two on your schedule to focus on giving and volunteering. Young children learn about their world chiefly by experiencing it, so get them involved in family giving. Volunteering and giving activities will provide a solid foundation and (we hope!) result in raising connected kids who genuinely care. Let’s make giving a life-long habit, and let’s do it as a family.
Start a Year Long Tradition of Ending Hunger
Christmas and the season of giving is the perfect opportunity to start a year long habit. Ending hunger happens one day and meal at a time. Don’t forget to donate to your area’s food bank once Christmas day has passed. Consider doing your pantry advent calendar once per month or make your own based on their most pressing current needs. Get on their email list, share their needs list with others, make donations a part of your routine, and consider volunteering. Lead kids by example by helping out in a way that they understand and that they can see. Working together, we can help make hunger a thing of the past. And just imagine – it could all start with a reverse advent calendar.