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MHC Hosts Hunger Week
Canned food drives, a hunger banquet, a food-for-fashion show and an empty bowls dinner event are some of the activities planned for Hunger Week at Mars Hill College, April 1 – 9.
Hunger Week is an annual event at Mars Hill which is designed to raise awareness and provide practical support for local agencies and charities which address food insecurity in Madison County and beyond. The event is coordinated by MHC’s LifeWorks program, in cooperation with a Hunger Week committee made up of students and staff at Mars Hill.
“We have Hunger Week every year at MHC to bring awareness to the campus about local and global hunger issues,” said Kristina Rathburn, a student on the Hunger Week team. According to Rathburn, the event is a joint effort, involving several local organizations like Chartwells Dining Services and Mars Hill Baptist Church. Events during the week “create hunger awareness and raise funds to benefit hunger relief organizations like Neighbors in Need and MANNA Food Bank,” she said.
According to LifeWorks Director Travis Proffitt, Hunger Week reflects both a global and a local focus. “Each event is intended to convey what hunger means for people, and especially children, around the world, but also what it means for children right here in western North Carolina,” Proffitt said. “Hunger is not just an abstract concept that happens in the developing world. It does happen there, but it also happens in our back yard.”
Hunger Week at Mars Hill College will include the following events.
• Food Drive during the Bailey Mountain Cloggers’ “Warped Wonderland” Concert, April 1-3, 7 pm on Friday and Saturday and 2 pm on Sunday. Cans of food or cash donations will benefit Madison County Neighbors in Need.
• A Hunger Week “Kick Off” Event in the Mars Hill College cafeteria, April 4, 5 – 7 pm will begin a week-long emphasis on reducing food waste. Any savings realized by Chartwells will be donated to MANNA Food Bank.
• Oxfam Hunger Banquet, Redway Dining Room, April 5, 5 – 6 pm, with a discussion on local and global hunger issues following.
• Empty Bowls Dinner in the Fellowship Hall of Mars Hill Baptist Church, April 6, 5-7 pm. $10 will purchase dinner and a bowl made by MHC pottery students. All proceeds will go to Neighbors in Need.
• Food for Fashion Show in the Loft, April 7, 7-8:30 pm. Cans of food or cash donations will benefit Madison County Neighbors in Need. A speaker following the fashion show will talk about hunger issues in the county.
• Fields of Hope Service Project, April 9. 8:30 am – noon. Volunteers will be planting potatoes for distribution through Neighbors in Need and MANNA Food Bank.