The truth about the hunger and poverty that exists within the United States and around the world is a hard subject to digest.
A Hunger Banquet, hosted by BGSUrve, was held last night in the Union to educate students about the severity of the crisis. The organization brought George Jensen, a hunger relief advocate from the Society of St. Andrew, to speak because he has seen the tragedy first hand through his work.
Members of BGSUrve brought Jensen to campus because they knew he wouldn’t “sugar coat” the situation, said Bernard Little, chair of BGSUrve.
“He’ll let us know what’s going on and how we can help,” Little said. ” I know he’ll tell it like it is.”
Individuals who participated in last night’s event were given a card at random upon entering the room. Each card was designated as high income, middle income or low income.
The amount and types of food participants were served depended on the card each person received.
Those designated as high income individuals, which in reality represent 15 percent of the population, were fed a nutritious meal with an abundance of food. Representing 25 percent of the population, the middle income range of people were given a less nutritious meal. And the majority of the population, 60 percent, is at low income status. They were fed a minimal amount of food and were required to sit on the floor.
The purpose of the activity was to represent the fact that every human being has the same basic needs to survive, but it’s the circumstances, different locations and culture that differ.
“The planet that we live on produces enough food to feed every woman, man and child every day,” Little said. “Some are born into relative prosperity and security and millions have no choice of their own and are born into poverty.”
In the United States, which is deemed as the wealthiest nation in the world, 35 million people live in poverty.
People should not be dying of starvation or malnutrition because there is a sufficient amount of food produced in the world, Jensen said.
“It’s not a question of production, it’s a question of distribution,” he said.
Every year, 96 billion pounds of food are wasted, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“Wherever there is food involved, there is waste and it’s edible,” Jensen said. “All we have to do is get it to those who need it.”
Jensen blames the extreme amount of wasted food on the inability of people to realize the consequences that result from their decisions.
“We have all become picky, fussy eaters,” he said. “We are not conscious of what we do and the waste we create.”
Jensen hoped that participants walked away from last nights event with a realization that even though the United States is a rich country, it is a country filled with hurting people.
“There’s too many hungry [people] in a country that is this rich that has so much,” he said. “We need to look out for each other and take care of each other.”
