The Wake

Students were a broader worldview Friday November 17 by participating in a hunger banquet in St. Paul. The Christian Student Fellowship, a Christian student group on campus, hosted the event to promote awareness of hunger, poverty and the unequal distribution of the world’s resources.

CSF provided a unique twist to deliver their message. The 49 participants were given a ticket when they checked in that had a profile of a person and divided them into three groups: the high income, middle income and low income populations. The students were not informed as to which group they would be a part of before they got their ticket.

Rebecca Lehmer, CSF’s adviser, spoke about the problems of poverty and what their group is doing to help fight the problem. Every 2.9 seconds, a child dies from hunger, Lehmer says. There is enough food in the world to feed every man, woman and child, but the food and resources are not equally distributed to everyone, she says.

Although hunger and poverty have decreased in the past 20 years, Lehmer says, it continues to be a global problem and cited examples in Darfur and other countries. Lehmer then discussed how charities such as Feed My Starving Children are working to help people who aren’t getting their share of food.

After the speech, Lehmer discussed a scenario that allowed six low-income members to become a part of the middle-income group, and six of the middle-income group were moved to the low-income group. She also had a scenario where a person in the high-income group got a bonus at his job that affected a woman in the low-income group and could not afford to eat for a day. The students were then told how dinner was going to be served.

The high-income group was seated at a table decorated with a tablecloth, candles and flowers. They were served first with spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, dessert and their choice of drink for dinner. With only eight people in this group, they consume 70 percent of the world’s food. They also have the best access to healthcare, education and credit card offers, Lehmer says.

The middle-income group was seated in folding chairs and was told to get in line at a buffet table. Their dinner consisted of water and a flavored rice and bean dish that was provided by Feed My Starving Children. There were 12 people in this group who live paycheck to paycheck and are usually day laborers who are chasing the American dream. For them, access to education and healthcare varies greatly depending on the person and has difficulties obtaining good credit.

The low-income group was served last, seated on the floor. They were given pots of plain white rice and had to get cups of water from a metal bucket and the women had to eat after the men. They were the majority of the group with 20 people and are field workers for less than minimal pay. For this group, school and food are a luxury and these people are either homeless or live in a flimsy shack that could easily be destroyed by a strong wind.

“A major misconception that people have is they believe people are hungry and poor because they are lazy and they make the choice to be poor. The truth is they do not have a choice for a number of factors,” Lehmer says.

After dinner, there was an open discussion where all the participants were able to comment on what they just witnessed. A few noticed that they were unaware of how unequal the distribution of resources was among people. The low-income group realized that while they could go out afterwards and buy dinner, people who are realistically in the group cannot do that. They have to eat what is available.

“I don’t like drinking colored water,” a participant from the low-income group shouted referring to the condition of the water in the metal bucket, which was dyed with food color to prove a point about the condition of water in most starving countries.

After the open discussion, Brian Molohon, Area Development Director for Feed My Starving Children, spoke to the group. He discussed what he does for the charity and talked about his recent trip to Haiti, a country he described as the worst place for poverty. The average life expectancy among Haitians is 53 years, Molohon says. The living conditions in this country at best involve poorly made duplexes that are eight feet wide and 10-to-12 feet deep that can hold up to 12 people. For the majority of the island though, people are homeless or live in small mud and grass huts. He then showed a picture of two children who were mostly naked and one child had orange in his hair, a sign of severe malnutrition because the protein found in hair was being stripped away by the body in a way to get protein, Molohon says.

Things are getting better in Haiti because of the efforts of Feed My Starving Children and other charities. The rice that was served for dinner had chicken seasoning, soy protein and dehydrated vegetables to help nourish and protect those in need, he says. Each bag of rice that is sent to a starving country can make six nutritious meals and only costs 15 cents a bag.

“I can only give you a tiny taste of what life is like in this country,” Molohon says.

Feed My Starving Children relies on volunteers to pack the bags of rice and ship boxes of food to starving countries. Molohon invited everyone to volunteer at one of the charity’s locations saying that it is a great experience being able to help out someone in need.

The hunger banquet was able to raise $600 and all the proceeds were donated to Feed My Starving Children.

For more information on Feed My Starving Children or to volunteer, visit .