For most of us, sitting down to dinner and going away hungry is unimaginable.

But that is what happened to many of the folks who attended a hunger banquet March 11 at Keuka College.

The event was hosted by the Community Service Resource Center (Center for Experiential Learning) and co-sponsored by the Political Science and History Club, Sigma Alpha Pi, Gathered in Faith Together (GIFT) Club, the Peace Club, and Sodexo Food Service.

According to Shelby Harvey, community service coordinator in the Center for Experiential Learning, the collaborative effort “shows how Keuka College provides a supportive learning environment for students to gain a better understanding of the hunger crisis currently facing our world.”

^{Shelby Harvey}

More than 65 students attended the event to raise awareness of poverty in Yates County and the world. Students donated canned goods or $1 to Food for the Needy, a local food pantry.

The hunger banquet is a concept developed by Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization that operates in more than 120 countries to create lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. The purpose is to give people first-hand experience of the vast differences between those who have plenty to eat and those who have none.

Upon arrival at the banquet, guests drew tickets at random that assigned them to either a high, middle, or low-income tier. The 15 percent in the high-income tier were served a delicious meal. The 35 percent in the middle-income section ate a simple meal of rice and beans. The 50 percent in the low-income tier helped themselves to small portions of rice and water.

^{Matt Crabb}

“The hunger banquet was very moving for many of the students because they were unaware of the impact that poverty has on the local level,” said Harvey.

Attending the banquet was a requirement for students in Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science Bob Aronson’s  World Politics, Political Development in Latin America and Global Studies classes.

Following the banquet, Aronson provided the students an opportunity to reflect on the experience to gain a better understanding of local, national, and international poverty issues.

-- Gretchen Parsells