Candy Bag: An Activity to Explore Poverty & Inequality

Objective(s) & Context

1. Explore inequalities of wealth and better understand experiences of economic inequality.

2. Generate ideas for action towards economic equality.

This activity allows girls to talk about poverty and inequality without it being personal because the activity creates a fictional wealth and poverty through the currency of candy.

Duration

30 minutes to one hour

Group Size

12–15

Age Group

11 +

Skills

Describing and resolving emotions, making links between the activity and inequalities in society, and brainstorming action steps to address poverty.

Format(s) & Technique(s)

Group game, large group discussion.

Materials

Brown paper bags for each group

Cinnamon hearts (or other) candy

A range of prizes (one prize per group: a desirable prize, for example, a large chocolate bar; a less desirable prize,for example, a box of Kraft Dinner; and an undesirable prize, for example, unattractive mittens or a can of vegetables)

Facilitation Tips

Ensure that the candy you buy does not conflict any anyone’s allergies or food restrictions.
There may be strong feelings of unfairness voiced by participants. To help direct these feelings constructively, it is essential to facilitate a discussion after the activity.
Usually talking about the connections between the activity and unequal distribution of wealth in society allows participants to work through their feelings.
Divide groups in a way that ensures diversity in each group and friend cliques are separated.
It is better to have very mixed groups in order to stay focused on the differences created only by the number of candies in each bag.
If social locations of the participants (like age, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, etc.) or other differences come up in the activity, this should be addressed directly during the debrief discussion.
This activity can take on different outlooks, addressing either local or global poverty. If participants mention only poverty “over there,” for example, meaning in developing countries, you can ask them if these kinds of inequalities exist in our own community.

Popular Education Prompts

During the discussion, allow girls to share their knowledge of poverty or inequalities in wealth and resources.
Leave sufficient time for participants to respond to the debrief questions in their own manner, rather than supplying the answers.
This activity often generates strong feelings that then create a strong desire to take action on poverty issues.
Encourage participants’ desire to take action through a brainstorm on ways that they could make a difference in their community, particularly as a group.

Leading the Activity: Steps to Take

Preparation:

Prepare the brown paper bags before the workshop.
You need at least 3 bags, 1 per group.
Put different amounts of candy in each bag; the candies will be shared among the participants in each group.
Each group will have a different amount of participants, as well as candies. For example, with a group of 12 participants, prepare 3 bags: one bag containing 80 cinnamon hearts for a group with 2 participants; the second bag containing about 20 candies to be shared amongst 4 participants in a group; the third bag containing 5 cinnamon hearts to be shared amongst 6 participants in a group.
The divisions of the bags and groups are intended to represent different socio-economic locations in today’s society, symbolizing very wealthy, middle class, and low-income people.
Keep a bag of candies aside to give to the girls later in the activity to even out the candy distribution.

Workshop:

Divide the participants into small groups based on the above instructions.
Ask participants to agree that there is no trading or sharing allowed between groups and that they will not eat the candy during the activity.
Distribute the brown bags with candies to the appropriate group (the smallest group receives the largest amount of candies, and so on).
Ask the participants to count the candies in their respective bags when you say, “Go!”
Ask each group to appoint a speaker to announce the amount of candy in their bag.
Once every group has announced their amount, explain that their candy has monetary value and they will be receiving items in exchange for them.
Distribute the undesirable prize to the “poor group.” Distribute the less desirable prize to the “middle class group.” Distribute the desirable prize to the “rich group.”
Facilitate a discussion around the feelings or dynamics that were generated during the exercise.
In the middle of the discussion, distribute the same amount of candies to each participant to enjoy.
Continue the discussion, focusing on actions they could take as a group to improve the situation.

Debrief

Questions to ask the group:

How did you feel during the exercise?
What was it like to have less or more candy?
Do you think the exercise says something about how things are in the world?
What gave some people more power than others in this game?
What gives some people more power than others in life?
What can we do to make a difference on these issues?
What could we do as a group?

Success Indicators

Participants are:

Actively engaged in the activity, talking, counting, perhaps protesting, boasting or complaining
Talking about their personal reactions to the activity
Making connections to larger social issues in which there is an unequal division of wealth and resources
Resolving the strong feelings they may have had during the activity through the debrief discussion
Generating ideas about how to make a difference on poverty issues, personal or group actions they could take