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December 7, 2004
Contact: Maureen Smith, Public Information Officer, Northwest Vista College
210-348-2011 or msmith@accd.edu

NVC HOSTS FIRST ANNUAL HUNGER BANQUET

In recognition of International Education Week, Northwest Vista College held its first annual Hunger Banquet on Tuesday, November 16. Approximately 100 students, faculty and staff engaged in a role-play scenario that dramatized the way hunger and poverty affects people around the world. Participants were divided into three socioeconomic levels and served a corresponding meal. Mealtime was followed by a discussion in which members of the different socioeconomic groups shared their impressions of the experiment.

“I felt bad,” said Student Success specialist Robbie Guajardo, who was assigned to the high-income group. “It was hard to sit here with my full-course meal while the poor were only given rice. I felt so bad that I couldn’t eat.” Others at his table nodded in agreement.

When asked whether they had tried to share their meal portions with their low-income neighbors, a few admitted feeling uncomfortable and unsure of how to approach the poor.

English instructor Craig Coroneos noted that participants in the high-income group were laughing and engaged in conversation as they ate, while the poor hardly smiled and showed little energy. “They didn’t really respond when prompted to revolt in protest of the inequitable food distribution,” he said. “It’s hard to lead a revolution on an empty stomach.”

“It’s important to build awareness about hunger and global inequalities, especially before Thanksgiving when we all consume so much food,” remarked Service Learning Coordinator Shelley Blagg, co-organizer of the Hunger Banquet. “Students need to see the bigger picture, that it’s not always as easy as we may think to develop solutions to the hunger crisis.”