Salt Lake Community College will be hosting the Oxfam American Hunger Banquet on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 6-8 p.m. in the Student Event Center at the Taylorsville Redwood Campus.
The banquet is part of the activities corresponding with the “Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week” that will take place at SLCC on Nov. 18-22.
“We want to provide information about how global hunger and poverty look like,” says Linnie Spor, service leadership coordinator at the Thayne Center for Service and Learning.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around 50 million Americans struggle to find enough food to eat and live with fear of starvation on daily basis. Utah has a high level of food insecurity. The more vulnerable population are children.
“In Utah, one of every five children lives in food insecurity,” Spor says.
Spor says that even at SLCC there are students who do not have reliable means to get food on daily basis.
The Oxfam banquet is a unique way to visualize what it means to have hunger and be impoverished. At the beginning of the night, all guests will be randomly assigned tickets tied to a particular social class and by their income. The number of tickets will correspond with the number of people who are actually living in poverty around the world. Each group will receive food that matches their income level.
“We have hosted this banquet for about ten years now,” Spor says. “We hope to raise awareness of the high levels of food insecurity.”
A panel discussion will present information about hunger and poverty issues that are affecting the state of Utah. Several students who have been engaged in different local programs will share their insight about how they have successfully tackled the issues of hunger and poverty in our community, by educating people and promoting change. They hope to make an impact and motivate students in getting more involved in the ongoing battle against hunger and poverty.
The Oxfam American Hunger Banquet aims to bring these social issues to the foreground, and encourage students and our community to visualize practical ways in bringing hope to those in need.
A suggestion donation of five cans of food or $5 is the price for admission.
