Hunger Awareness Week to serve up some first-hand knowledge of hunger locally, globally
By Hannah Gray
Hunger Awareness Week, which began Monday and goes until Friday, shifted its focus from global to local.
"I think people tend to see a lot of global hunger, and we wanted people to realize there are people going hungry in the US as well," said junior Dayna Smith, a member of the Hunger Awareness Committee.
Tonight, Hunger Awareness Week continues with a poverty simulation called True Life: I'm on Welfare. Students will take on roles in a family, much like a life-size version of "The Game of Life," according to Michelle Chang, the coordinator for the UP Hunger Awareness Committee.
"You're gaining the challenges and complexities of living in poverty," Chang said about the simulation. "Because it's interactive, it's fun and eye-opening."
Students will then go through various activities over a simulated one-month period in the course of an hour.
"The goal is that students would experience some of the challenges people in our city would have to face," Chang said.
Sophomore Kevin Hershey, a member of the UP Hunger Awareness Committee, hopes the simulation will break the UP bubble of what's occurring off-campus.
"It will get people in the mindset of worrying about stuff we don't usually worry about," Hershey said.
Before the simulation, junior Tamara Caruso will give a presentation about "what a homeless person looks like."
Caruso will be presenting the needs, rights, and barriers of the homeless, as well as how people can get involved.
"We're just trying to spread the word," Caruso said.
The event is in St. Mary's from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and students need to stay for the entire event.
On Friday, a group of students will serve food to the homeless at Brother Andre Cafe. There will be two shifts: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
In past years, Hunger Awareness Week was centered on global hunger and included a banquet. Students would be assigned meal types: most students would have rice, some would have rice and beans, and very few would have full meals. It was a representation of food consumption patterns worldwide.
Since the Hunger Awareness banquet has occurred more than 10 years, the committee looked at ways to freshen the week up by doing something new, according to Chang.
The Hunger Awareness Committee began planning after the Hunger Awareness Week last year.
"We've always done the Hunger Awareness banquet," Caruso said about the simulation. "It'll be interesting for people who've already done it, like juniors and seniors."
Tuesday, Hunger Awareness Week kicked-off with a 12-hour fast. The fast ended with a Taizé Prayer Service in the Kenna Chapel and a simple meal donated by Bon Appétit.
A group of eight students gathered for the prayer, and 10 people joined for dinner.
"I thought the music was beautiful, and it was a nice reflective atmosphere," said Hershey, who facilitated the event. "It's nice to get students thinking about these issues."
Wednesday, at Espresso UP, students had the opportunity to choose a 500-calorie meal under two dollars. The goal was to choose food items within four food groups: grain, meat, dairy and fruit or vegetables.The catch was, however, with many combinations of food, it was impossible to get a full meal of 500 calories with the four food groups under $2, according to Dayna.
"I hope people realize that it is extremely difficult for people living on a relatively high minimum wage to eat a fully balanced meal," Dayna said, who organized the $2 food challenge.
The proceeds from the week will go to a food pantry run by St. Vincent de Paul's located in the Holy Cross Parish School only a few blocks from campus, according to Chang.
