News

Banquet gives students a taste of hunger

Diners see the difference between upper and lower class meals

By Meredith Holt

Posted on Nov. 18, 2002, at 12:00 a.m.

denise farwell

Manna, like many area food banks, is trying to collect non-perishable food items to prepare for the holiday season.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and while students at the University of Maine eagerly anticipate turkey and stuffing with all the trimmings, 27 million Americans will go without anything to eat.

Hunger and related problems were the topics of the third annual Hunger Banquet held Saturday, Nov. 16 at the Newman Center focused on the issue of hunger. “We thought this would be a really good idea, especially with Thanksgiving coming up,” said Jon Dunn of the Catholic Students Association.

The Hunger Banquet was co-sponsored by Black Bear Volunteers and the CSA. This is the first year CSA has been involved with the banquet.

Non-perishable food and monetary donations were collected to benefit Crossroads Ministries, a nonprofit Christian organization that provides food and other services to families.

The banquet coincided with Gov. Angus King’s announcement of November as “Maine Ending Hunger Month.” He urged “all citizens to dedicate themselves to the goal of ending hunger,” according to a recent press release from King’s office.

To bring the issue closer to home, Caitlin Whelan of CSA discussed the problem of hunger awareness in local communities. She said most people consider hunger a Third World problem, but it is also a problem in Maine.

One in 10 jobs in Maine does not pay enough to cover the basic needs of a family, according to a Crossroads Ministries brochure.

“There is hunger everywhere and people seem to forget that it affects us here,” Whelan said. “I’m just hoping to bring more focus to hunger in the area.”

Organizers of the event greeted incoming guests while Kristin Eickhorst of CSA distributed pieces of paper with either “lower class,” “middle class” or “upper class” written on them, designating table assignments.

The lower class table was virtually empty except for paper plates and plastic utensils. They received a serving of plain white rice and water for their meal. The middle class table had glasses and plates and were served macaroni and cheese. The two people at the upper class table had fine place settings and candles. They were served chicken, saut�ed vegetables and white rice.

The discrepancy in food between the tables gave participants a better sense of class inequality in local communities.

“It makes me appreciate what I have,” Moira Reilly, a Black Bear volunteer and third-year psychology major, said.

“I never really understood why people of lower income would be upset with the middle class, [but] the difference between a plate of rice and macaroni is big right now,” Ian Carlsona, a second-year secondary education English major and CSA member, said.

Speakers discussed hunger-related issues during the banquet. Dr. John Tjepkema, professor of plant physiology with interest in food resources, spoke to the group about the plight of world aid programs and the causes of hunger.

Tjepkema said that less than one percent of U.S. grain production is given away for international aid.

It might be more effective to help needy countries improve their agricultural systems rather than dumping grain on them, Tjepkema said.

“We’re a large country and a rich country, [but] on a per-capita basis, we’re at the bottom of the list for international aid,” Tjepkema said. “As Americans, we can act to make a difference in this problem.”

Jim Russ, originally from Mississippi, has been a Crossroads member for one year. He addressed the group about how people can help combat local hunger. Russ optimistically pointed out that Crossroads helps 500-550 families each month.

“Just because someone has a job doesn’t mean that they can eat,” Russ said. “People have to decide whether they can take their medicine or eat. We can all, at times, use a helping hand.”

Brenda Davis, founder and director of Crossroads, spoke to the group about Crossroads and problems that stem from hunger. Her organization started out of the trunk of her car 10 years ago and has grown. She gave up a job to work for Crossroads full-time and works with other food pantries and organizations.

“Education is the key to ending hunger.people need to know what it’s like to be hungry,” Davis said. “Hunger is a community problem, it belongs to each one of us.”

She discussed how hunger sometimes leads to other problems such as depression and substance abuse.

“Hunger destroys families, hunger destroys communities, hunger destroys children,” Davis said.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 18th, 2002, 12:00 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.