Hunger Banquet serves as learning experience

On November 17, approximately 60 students attended the first annual Hunger Banquet hosted by the Community Service office.

The event raised awareness about poverty and hunger across the globe through presentations by students and YouTube video clips. When students arrived, they were randomly separated into three different groups. After the presentations, the high-income group of four students received a full course meal, while the middle-income group received rice and beans with a fruit drink. The low-income group, which was the majority of attendees, received rice and water for their meals. The goal of this was to prove to students that people don’t get to choose the life they are born into, and everyone has the same basic human needs despite their living conditions.

At the end of the event, students were asked to take a container to fill with change and return to the community service office. Students were then able to choose whether they wanted their change to be donated to a local, national, or international charity for hunger.

“Through the Hunger Banquet people realized how many hungry people there are in the world…in America too,” said Niki-Lyn Ziroli. “I think it's something that was really important for our campus to see because so many people think that being poor is a choice, and a lot of the time that’s not the case. They realized how devastating it is for people who can’t support their family.”

For more information about donations contact the Community Service office at Ext. 4166.