Food Banks Videos

A suggestion from a group of British teenagers is helping food banks serving people who live on the breadline. These two videos are good for discussing the social phenomenon in class.

As you can read in our article, a group of Exeter teenagers suggested putting signs on supermarket shelves next to priority items for food banks, so that customers would think to buy extra to donate. Their initiative helped triple donations.

This one-an-a-half minute video tells the story simply and can easily be used from B1. Different groups could be asked to concentrate on 1. the manager from Sainsburys 2. the teenagers 3. the volunteer from the food bank. Then in interaction they could clarify that they've got all the essential details.

You can find more information about National Citizen Service here.

For more about food banks, again at B1, you could use a new video from the Banque de ressources anglais cycle 4.

There is a new video about Food Banks at B1 level, on the Banque de ressources anglais cycle 4. To see the resources, register or log in now.

Then go to:
Vidéos > B1> École et société > "Food Banks".

The first 40 seconds has no speaking. Onscreen text gives a short introduction to the problem.

The rest of the video is interviews with two volunteers, and mainly with the manager of the food bank, Michele. They answer the questions:

When did you start to volunteer at the Food Bank?
Why did you decide to volunteer at a Food Bank?
What jobs do you do?
Where does the food come from?
Is there a ‘typical’ Food Bank user?
How many food parcels do you give out?
What’s in a food parcel?
What items do you want people to donate?
What can young people do to help?

Each question appears written onscreen, so it would be very easy to divide the video into groups. the question about food-bank users (2'50"-3'17) is the most complex, but it's worth the time to make sure pupils understand.

There are interactive activities to help comprehension.

It would be nice to end on Michele's final positive message to young people, "You’re not too young to do something, you’re not too young to make a difference. Be the champion of poverty in your community!" It ties back in nicely with the NCS video.

I, Daniel Blake
Ken Loach's Cannes-winning film I, Daniel Blake focuses on people living in poverty in the UK and has memorable scenes in food banks you could consider using with advanced pupils.