By Maria-Pia Negro Staff Writer
The Center for Community Service and Justice's annual Hunger Banquet 2010 took place last Wednesday in the fourth floor programming room. As part of this annual tradition, the Hunger Banquet was a metaphor for how food and other resources are inequitably distributed in the world. The banquet offered extensive information and statistics on world hunger, American hunger and the hunger in Baltimore. This along with movie clips, such as Share Our Strength, and testimonies this banquet raised questions "to further explore these harsh truths that are so commonly forgotten." Senior Liz Duclos one of the five CCSJ service coordinators who planned the banquet, said the idea was to present a "snapshot" the get people thinking about the vast issue of hunger. Attendees received a color identity card once they arrived, along with an opening quiz to get the attendees thinking about hunger. This quiz showed that hunger is not just related to just food; "The lack of access to enough food to fully meet basic needs due to the lack of financial resources, this is also known as "food insecurity." "It is only our circumstances that differ. Some are born into relative prosperity and security, while millions-by no choice of their own-are born into poverty," said Alicia Condon, CCSJ service coordinator who also planned this year's event. As a way to show this, roles were distributed according to their cards and so were seats which were meant not just to determine the "place" in society. The first group represented 15 percent of the world's population with an income of $9,076 or more and sat at two tables. The second group, 25 percent of the world, made between $912 and $9,075 a year. They are the people who live on the edge and sat on the chairs. Those left on the floor sat there for the rest of the banquet. They represented the majority of the world's population with income is less than $911 a year and struggle to find food, water and shelter. Also, "even though education is the single most powerful weapon against poverty," school is a luxury for them. The presentation showed the attendees that, "almost half the world lives on less than $2.50 a day" and that at least "80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day." Then students saw slides about the effects of inequality. Later the focus narrowed to Maryland and Baltimore. According to statistics presented, Maryland has the highest median family income in the nation and the lowest poverty line in the United States. Maryland's poverty is focused in Baltimore and a few rural areas; Baltimore ranking 15th amongst poorest city in the United States. The reason for the local statistics was that hunger "can become overwhelming and abstract to talk so much about hunger worldwide. Although [world hunger] is extremely real and extremely pressing, it brings more to the table when we can talk about it in our own backyard," said Condon. For the meal portion of the evening, the rich of the room's population were served a three course meal; the ones on the edge was asked to stand up and help themselves with some rice and beans; and the majority of the population, the ones close or under the poverty line, had to make a line in the back of the room to get a cup of rice. Later, attendees formed groups, composed by people from every "economical class," to start a discussion about the evening. People from each group shared their views with the rest of the assembly. Some people reflected in the shocking effects of the numbers in the meal distribution and how some seats at the wealthy table were empty as well as chairs causing food to go to waste which made people feel guilty. Condon stressed that the world produces enough food; the real problem lies in power, distribution of wealth, access to resources access to education, which creates disparity amongst the different income groups. According to Condon change starts with raising awareness, then doing service and continues through advocacy. Senior Dimitri Linde accepted that it was difficult to convey how poverty operates in a two-hour session; the banquet was a good way to raise awareness. He remarked the importance of "Realizing what we take for granted, [and] gaining an understanding in consumption of food in worldwide." Sophomore Colleen Quigley also said that the Hunger Banquet was a really important way of raising awareness. For her, one of the most important messages of the banquet was to advocate for a change and that "we should go past the guilt to be able to do more and to make a change." "It's OK to have what we have. Because we have more, we have to do more."
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