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Life is too short to eat bad food! Sharing great recipes, farm life, stories and photography from our Northern California dairy farm.

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May 18, 2011

A Homeschool Lesson about Starving Children and Panera Cares

It's another rainy day here in northern California, so the slow cooker came out this morning.  Roast, potatoes and carrots are on the menu for dinner.  But when my six year old found out what we were having, he complained, horribly.  I was so disappointed with his complaining about the plate full of food that was in front of him,{yes, I do realize he's only six} that I preceded to tell him there are millions of children in the world that are starving and have never seen food like this.....that they may have to eat bugs or whatever they find just to survive. {you may think my comment is harsh, but when you have a child that complains about 70% of the dinners he's given, it takes a toll}
Then I asked him if he wanted to see what starving children look like.....thank goodness for the internet.  Of course both my kids wanted to see what I was talking about.  I Googled 'starving children' and up came a YouTube video.  My six year olds eyes glassed over and I could see the realization in his eyes.  He then understood why I was so upset by his complaining. 

Just five minutes later while watching the news I heard this story............

Panera Bread opened its third non-profit community cafe in Portland this past January.  After two successful community cafes in Michigan and Missouri a year ago.
 







One of the goals of Panera Cares is everyone who needs a meal gets a meal.  Those who can afford to pay for a meal, do and those who can't are encouraged to donate their fare share and donate what they can......a hand up, not a hand out.

The cafes also offer the option of volunteering an hour of time for a meal. The Panera Cares cafe model is designed to be self-sustaining with support from the community.

SO, Cheers to you, Panera Bread!

I love to hear from you! Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to leave a comment. Have a fantastic day!


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14 comments:

My Farmhouse Kitchen said...

loved hearing about your dinner...raining here in slo too...and windy...

roasting baby back ribs tonight with double stuffed potatoes and a salad... no bbqing tonight

loved reading your post today

kary and teddy

Ott, A. said...

It's raining here as well. I think all parents tell their kids about starving children to get them to eat. It is a fact and good that they learn how fortunate they are along with ways to help others.

TexWisGirl said...

i had seen that news program about Panera too and i think it's fantastic!!! i hope they can still turn a profit and widen this effort even more!

Dar said...

What a fantastic opportunity to get a message across. It does help the little ones see how fortunate they are.
BlessYourPatientHeart

Sarah said...

I don't think your comment was harsh at all! I have a class full of six year olds and they used to complain all the time about everything! Now then (almost) NEVER complain because they get harshly punished when they do.

That is really awesome of Panera Bread - good for them!!

Sarah from The House That Ag Built

ann said...

We have rain but I can remember when my Mother gave me the same story about the hungry children when I was A child. He will grow out of that not wanting to eat what you have.

ellie k said...

I worked in school food service for 23 years and most of that was in a very low income area. The kids would be so hungry on Monday morning that they would lick there plates to get all the food from the corners. I knew that they did not have enough to eat over the week end. I always took extra food to the kids that I knew were still hungry. This was in kids right here in USA.

Dawn said...

Don't you so enjoy those eye-opening moments in homeschooling? Those are the parts I love. (I just could do without the complain-over-dinner-times;))

Kelsie from Our Country Home and Studio Photography said...

Not harsh at all...6 is plenty old enough to know the truth...Good job mom, and great idea to show them on the internet to prove you are not making it up...Wish my almost 3yr old was old enough to understand.

We need a Panera Cafe here in our little town where there is no work to be had and families living in the woods because they have lost their homes.

Thank you for sharing
Blessings Kelise

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Wow. That is so awesome.

I may possibly have made up a fairy tale about Meagan, the little girl who wouldn't eat her dinner, then wandered off into the woods and almost starved and was so sad and scared until a flying donkey rescued her. And then she came home with the donkey and ate her chicken pot pie all gone and told her parents she would always eat her dinner. The funny thing is that Pierce LOVES this story and asks for it all the time.

Anonymous said...

You need to check out the Same Cafe here in Denver. It is the cafe that Panera model their cafe after. It has been operating for 5years now by a couple who used their life savings to open it. They are an amazing and inspiring couple. The food is delicious and healthy, with the menu changing daily. Truly a wonderful place.

LB @ Bullets And Biscuits said...

Quick thinking using the internet....I think sometimes visuals get the message across more than just words.

And I hope alot more companies follow panera's footsteps...

bon bon said...

it's definitely a slow-cooker kind of day here too.

i was not aware that panera bread did this. but then, i don't get out (or eat out) much. worth stopping for though. thanks for spreading the word!

crystal.cattle said...

I am finally getting caught up on my blog reading and it looks like things have been busy on the farm. I didn't know about Panera, that is really cool.

I think showing your kids what hungry kids look like would have a big impact. I remember my mom saying it lots, but without seeing the image it didn't sink in as much.
www.crystalcattle.com