The Student Government Association hosted an information session on world hunger in the University Center lounge on March 19. Students participated in activities and listened to music of different cultures to gain knowledge about the issue.
One of the activities involved students splitting up into groups or “classes”. SGA did this by giving out meals to students such as: spaghetti with French bread to represent the high class, rice and bread to represent the middle class, and just rice to represent the lower class. After receiving the meal and eating it, students discussed how they felt based off the meal they had. The middle class and lower class felt hopeless and wanted to ask for more, whereas the higher class felt privileged and had the urge to help the classes below them.
“Access to resources is what matters” said Christie Poteet, director of the Office for Community and Civic Engagement and co-host for the banquet. “You can’t perform at your best if you are not able to get the proper nutrients”.
The banquet was organized because “The Association of Food Insecurity had to come up with an event that aligned with the SGA theme of food and home insecurity,” according to Simone Spencer, SGA’s Student Affairs Committee chair.
Student organizations, such as OLE and the Black History Club, discussed the topic of hunger and poverty within racial barriers. According to OLE, food security and hunger in Latin America not only carries significant benefits for human health but also for economic growth. According to the Black History Club, only 8 percent of blacks in the U.S. have a grocery store near their neighborhood.
SGA wanted students to “gain knowledge and real-life experience of food insecurity and the types of things that effect it, whether it’s your job or certain circumstances. Most people are born with this issue and really have no plan B” said Spencer.
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