"Well, I see that it's more serious, and that people, a lot of people, are dying now because of sickness of not having any food," student Manuel Rojas said.
It was part of a field trip to the recently opened Action Center to End World Hunger, where students are exposed to the lesson that hunger is the world's most serious epidemic.
"And it's causes are multiple," executive director Robert Sherman said. "Climate change, politics, crisis, economy, economic collapse. It's not just about the food."
What the students have learned at the center not only adds to their knowledge about the issue of world hunger, it compliments projects they're working on at school.
A mural on the subject is part of a week of special study at MS 88 called, Independent Project Week. It encourages special projects on subjects, including world hunger.
"So it's taking the skills that they learn in the classroom and putting everything to a real-life, real-world application," principal Ailene Altman Mitchell said.
Sixth graders are organizing a food and clothing drive to donate to the needy.
Some kids are also working on a play they wrote about how political repression can lead to hunger.
Ginger Laforestrie teaches the class.
"I want them to learn that they have a voice too," she said. "And that they can be the voice for those that have no voice."
And educators say they want the students to become life-long learners.
For more on the Action Center to End World Hunger, visit ActionCenter.com.
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STORY BY: Education reporter Art McFarland
WEB PRODUCED BY: Bill King
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