Hunger Banquet!

A BIG THANK YOU to all of you who made our Hunger Banquet such a huge success! With all of your hard work, time and contributions we raised $2655! The Youth Group is well on their way towards their fundraising goal of $6000. Thank you!

The Hunger Banquet was an educational event where participants learned about food distribution across the globe.When guests arrived they chose a piece of paper out of a basket that assigned them to an identity and to an economic class. The youth showed guests where to sit based on their class. 15% of guests were assigned to the upper class and were seated at a table nicely decorated with a table cloth and center pieces. 35% of guests chose cards that assigned them to the middle class, where they sat at a crowded undecorated table and 50% of guests were assigned to the lowest class and were asked to sit on the floor. Our youth facilitators, Maggie Davis and Louise Brownsberger hosted the event and explained “You may think hunger is about too many people and too little food. That is not the case. Our rich and bountiful planet produces enough food to feed every woman, man, and child on earth. Hunger is about power. Its roots lie in inequalities in access to education and resources.” They described the event as a metaphor for how food and other resources are inequitably distributed in the world and introduced guests to some statistics and to the life circumstances of the people in each group.

Then each class received a meal based on their class assignment, which were prepared by a youth cooking crew. The wealthiest group was served by a Youth Group wait staff and was able to enjoy a full course meal – salad, bread, chicken, veggies and rice. They were also served dessert and tea later. The middle group was given beans and rice and was served family style and the lowest group received only rice in a big pot without any silverware. This experiential dinner was followed by 3 min clip (www.miniature-earth.com/) and a chance for all of the participants to reflect and share about their experience. It was a humbling and eye opening experience for many.