Food, Glorious Food

To show the wonder of God's provision of food. To reflect on the need to share food around the world.

by The Revd Guy Donegan-Cross

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To show the wonder of God's provision of food. To reflect on the need to share food around the world.

Preparation and materials

• You will need two sets of menu options (suggestions below), with each word or phrase on an individual piece of paper or card (large size), with Blu-Tack on the back so that they can be stuck up and moved around.
• A banana.
• Menu suggestions:
  
  Ants / Chocolate cake / Dung / Dandelions / Antelope / Custard / Snake / Donkey / Duck's feet / Bananas / Spiders / Bats / Pineapple / Potatoes / Cornflakes / Jellyfish / Seaweed / Mouse / Crocodile / Pepper / Scorpion / Snails
  
  With / With / And / And / Mixed with / Mixed with
  
  Mashed / Mashed / Pickled / Pickled / Squashed / Squashed / Fried / Fried / Boiled / Boiled

Assembly

1. Explain that you are going to tell the children three amazing things about food. But first you are going to play a game. Choose two teams of two children each. Each team has two minutes to design a menu using the options, and to attach it to a wall. There must be a starter, main course and pudding. When they have finished, ask them to read out their menu - to much disgust!
   
   
2. Point out that while we human beings might not fancy the food, everything on the menu is eaten by something else in the world. Lions eat antelope, anteaters eat ants, etc. God has provided different kinds of food for different kinds of creatures. He has even made it possible for people to eat completely different kinds of food and still be healthy - some are vegetarians, some like spices, etc.
   
   
3. Say the second amazing fact is that God has designed some food to make it easy for us to eat. Show the banana, and ask for a volunteer. Ask the volunteer to mime how they would go about eating this banana. The first time, when they try and break the stalk off, tell them to have another go. Then demonstrate how the banana can be opened from the 'bottom', with a ready-made 'handle' available (the stalk) - amazing!
   
   
4. Tell the children the third amazing fact about food is that there is enough food in the world to feed everybody. But millions will go hungry today. Ask why that is? Bring out the fact that we need to share what we have more fairly.
   
   
5. To summarize, God has made wonderful provision for all creatures, including us, in amazing ways. We have to pray and act so that everyone gets to enjoy God's provision.

Time for reflection

Ask the children to think of their favourite food and thank God quietly for it.

Dear God,
Thank you that you have made amazing things to eat for all creatures.
Help us to be people who share what we have,
so no one will be hungry.
Amen.

Song/music

'Pears and apples' (Come and Praise, 135)