Although the idea of anyone suffering from hunger and poverty in a country like the United States may be difficult to imagine, the Creighton Peace and Justice Cooperation showed how these issues affect the nation at this year’s Oxfam Hunger Banquet.
In honor of Justice through Solidarity week, the Peace and Justice Cooperative decided to host this event to raise awareness on hunger and poverty in America. The Peace and Justice Cooperation, along with various other organizations supporting this cause are striving to “Fight Poverty with Faith” and ultimately cut U.S. poverty rates in half by 2020.
Arts & Sciences junior Miranda Hinnenkamp was first introduced to idea of a hunger banquet after hearing about it at a NETWORK internship she was working last summer in Washington D.C. Hinnenkamp later decided it would be beneficial to the Creighton community to host this event on campus.
At the banquet, attendees were divided into groups of high, medium and low income and fed accordingly to simulate the unequal distribution of wealth and resources within the nation that ultimately lead to poverty and hunger.
Although Hinnenkamp believes it is important students to become aware of hunger issues, she also finds it important for people to know that hunger is not a “stand-alone issue,” but rather a result of larger societal issues in the U.S.
“Things like a minimum instead of a living wage, inequality in our justice system, homelessness, disastrous loaning practices, unequal education systems and growing inequality are all problems that can be found to have correlations with hunger,” Hinnenkamp said. “It’s not enough for us to just feed people; we need to give them the means to increased opportunities and to fix the underlying problems behind hunger.”
Arts & Sciences freshman Carissa Hernandes was among several attendees of this event. As a new member of the Peace and justice Cooperation, Hernandes decided to attend this event to see what new experiences and outlooks this event offered.
“I thought it would be interesting to just come to [the Hunger Banquet] and simulate the experience of being poor,” Hernandes said.
Hernandes said she believes students should attend events such as the Hunger Banquet in order to become more aware of issues they do not witness on a daily basis.
“I don’t think people really understand or grasp the magnitude of [hunger and poverty] until they come to something like this and start to get an idea of what it’s really like,” Hernandes said. “As Creighton students, [hunger and poverty] are not things most of us see very often.”
During the simulation, Hernandes was labeled as a high income individual and had to watch the low and middle income participants eat sparingly as she enjoyed a lavish meal. Seeing the striking differences between the eating habits of each level of income left Hernandes feeling inspired to take action against such inequality.
“The [Hunger Banquet] gave me a little bit more drive to do something to change [hunger and poverty],” Hernandes said. “It also gave me a deeper understanding of where people suffering from poverty are coming from.”
Arts & Sciences junior Kimberly Berberich helped to plan and prepare for this year’s Hunger Banquet. Berberich said she feels it is important for students to learn more about the issues plaguing the nation so that they can broaden their horizons by learning about the experiences of others.
“I think it’s important for Creighton students to be aware of [hunger and poverty] issues so that they can become well-rounded and don’t just stay in their own little bubble,” Berberich said.
Berberich said she also hopes those who attended this event left with a greater appreciation of what they have and awareness about the problems facing the nation.
“I hope attendees can share what they’ve learned about hunger and poverty so that other people will know about the issue and try to make a change,” Berberich said.
For more information on how to get involved in this cause, please log on to www.fightingpovertywithfaith.com