A taste of Hunger

Participants in this year’s hunger banquet, sponsored by Luther’s chapter of ONE, were met with a different scenario than in previous years.

In the past, each person was given a colored slip of paper that determined where they would sit. A lucky few were served a three-course meal on linen-covered table, some sat at a table with a bowl of rice and beans, but most were exiled to the floor with a small bowl of rice and no silverware to symbolize how many people are underfed across the globe.

This year, however, the Luther bakery created a thick, floury bread for banquet-goers that was similar to baladi bread, a nutrient-packed, inexpensive dietary staple that fills the stomachs of people in Egypt who may otherwise go hungry.

Felecia DeJong (‘11) was attending the dinner for the third year and welcomed the change.

“I think the bread was actually a lot more filling than just plain rice, and it’s a good way to show the positive changes in how we can get food to those in need,” DeJong said.

Dione Miller (‘11) and Jenny Roberts (‘11) are members of Luther’s chapter of the ONE, an advocacy organization dedicated to the eradication of extreme poverty and preventable diseases. In addition to serving bread, they shared the mission of the organization and the purpose of the hunger banquet.

“Maybe the term ‘hunger banquet’ doesn’t seem to make sense, but that’s what we’re going for,” Miller said. “That little piece of bread in front of you might seem like a banquet to someone who has experienced ongoing hunger.”

Miller urged the audience to get involved at the banquet.

“Your voice is free,” Miller said. “Use it to tell your representatives in Congress that you care about these issues. It doesn’t take much work to write a letter or make a phone call.”

Jeff Covert, a representative for Feed My Starving Children, a Christian organization that distributes dehydrated food to the hungry across the globe, spoke at the banquet about their goal to reach 140 million pounds of food distributed in 2010.

Luther students and Decorah community members will have an opportunity to get involved this fall when Feed My Starving Children comes to campus. The organization will seek volunteers to pack rice, soybeans, dehydrated vegetables and chicken flavoring into individual packages, which will then be distributed to people in need.

Covert estimates that around 40 percent of the food packed in 2010 will go to earthquake victims in Haiti, with other destinations including Nicaragua, India and multiple countries in Africa.