In November of 2010, Saint Martin's University celebrated International Week with the theme of sustainability. In honor of this theme, Sarah Younkin, the Interim Director in the Office of International Programs and Development, pitched the idea of hosting a hunger banquet at Saint Martin's to help raise awareness about hunger in the world today. Susan Leyster (the Director of Campus Ministry) and Brian Suda (the Associate Campus Minister) worked together to put on the event.
Everyone that participated in the hunger banquet received a little colored card when they arrived at the event. The card placed them in the upper class, middle or lower class of society. There were only two cards that represented the upper class of society and received a full course meal including a salad dish, entrée and dessert. The rest of the cards handed out represented the lower class. This was done to show how little of the world's population is able to eat luxuriously. Here in the United States, we are blessed with being rich enough to not have as much suffering from starvation.
Those of us that received the lower class cards were served a small bowl of steamed rice. It was barely a snack size for myself and was a huge culture shock to think that this was all that so many people get to eat just for one day. This Hunger Banquet was a great opportunity for myself and the community here at Saint Martin's to see how truly blessed we are and to learn how we can help others that are not as fortunate as us.
At the end of the event, we were given the opportunity to donate meal credits from our meal plans we have here at school. All that money was then donated to a local food bank. With our current economic times, so many are relying on food banks to keep themselves fed yet those that donate to them are unable to spare anything. The demand is increasing while the supplies decrease. Without donations, these banks are not able to stay open. Hunger is an extreme problem in our world today and will continue to be a problem, as it has in the past, unless we help each other.
Laurella White
Business
Class of 2012
