How do you combat world hunger?
By having a banquet of course.
Hungry students and members of the Bowling Green community will gather tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Lenhart Grand Ballroom for the Hunger Banquet, presented by the Honors Program.
According to Torrance Powell, Honors Program Assistant, tonight’s events will attempt to increase the overall awareness of the facts about world hunger and related issues.
The banquet, expected to draw 250 to 300 people, will feature a demonstration on the unequal distribution of food throughout the world.
When the banquet was last held four years ago, participants were given cards directing them where to sit as the came to the door. These cards divided participants into upper, middle and lower or Third World classes.
Senior Zack Bastoky, participant in the last Hunger Banquet, was initially assigned to the middle class and was enjoying his meal when he was moved to the lower class.
“This was to show that some people could easily lose their jobs and move down to the lower class,” Bastoky said.
It is estimated that the world produces enough grain and other commonly eaten foods to provide at least 4.3 pounds of food per person each day.
Even though resources are abundant worldwide, it is estimated that 786 million people have inadequate access to food.
“I want students to leave with a very good understanding of how well we have it here in the United States,” said Powell. “Even the poor here are much better off than those in other countries.”
In the United States alone however, it is estimated that 30 million people do not receive adequate nutrition.
Tonight’s event marks the second time the Honors Program has sponsored such an event. However, various groups on campus have presented such activities, including the Chapman Learning Community.
“(The Hunger Banquet) makes world hunger real on a small scale about what people go through in dealing with hunger,” said Jeannie Ludlow, American Culture Studies professor. “They (participants) will get to experience just for a few minutes what it is like.”
