Union College Banquet Highlights World Hunger
by Kassondra Patterson, ‘10

Union student Nokuzola Mzamane serves plain rice to a guest at the annual Hunger Banquet, which raises awareness about global hunger and poverty. The college is also holding a month-long food drive. Proceeds will be donated to two local food pantries.

On Wed., Nov. 17, Union College students and guests were welcomed to a banquet that was lavish for some, but left others without a place at the table.

The event was the annual Oxfam Hunger Banquet, which helps participants understand global hunger and poverty.

Organized by Union’s service-learning organization, Common Partners, the banquet placed guests in one of three categories: high income, middle income or low-income. Guests’ socioeconomic status determined where they sat and what they ate.

High-income guests were invited to a fine-dining experience at a well-set table. Jerry Jackson, Union’s dean of enrollment management and the master of ceremonies for the banquet, described the lifestyle represented by these well-fed guests.

“You represent the 15 percent of the world’s population, with a per-capita income of $9,076 or more,” he said. “You are fortunate enough to be able to afford a nutritious daily diet.”

Jackson went on to explain that the high-income group consumes 70 percent of the grain grown in the world, faces fewer health problems and has access to excellent medical care.

Those with middle-income status were led to an area with a row of chairs and a buffet. Jackson said they represent 25 percent of the world’s population and earn between $912 and $9,075 annually.

“You are the folks who live on the edge,” he said. “For many of you, it would take losing only one harvest to drought or a serious illness to throw you into poverty.”

The majority of banquet guests—the low-income—were given rice and a seat on the floor.
“You represent the majority of the world’s population,” Jackson said. “Every day is a struggle to meet your family’s basic needs. Many of you are frequently hungry.”

According to Gabby Mellendorf, director of Common Partners, having a meal randomly chosen by economic status was the whole point of the event.

“The hunger banquet helps guests really understand how people live throughout the world. Hunger and poverty are huge issues. So, we want to give them a glimpse into what meals and eating are like for families at all income levels.”

Shanya Jackson, a student and social justice intern with Common Partners, organized this year’s Hunger Banquet. It is one of two efforts organized by Union students to honor National Hunger Week. The other is a campus food drive, which ends Nov. 30. All canned food will be donated to the Christian Life Food Pantry and the KCEOC Women’s Emergency Support Shelter, both based in Barbourville.
 
   

December 2, 2010

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