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Hunger Week Aims to Educate
Sometimes it may seem that “the hungry” are far away and that there is nothing that the average person can do to alleviate their suffering. But the organizers of Hunger Week, to be held next week at Mars Hill College, are hoping to change those perceptions for students, faculty and staff.
“Hunger is an issue across the world and even here in western North Carolina,” said Dallas Thompson, North Carolina Campus Compact AmeriCorps*VISTA worker at Mars Hill College. Hunger Week is a way that we can demonstrate that the choices we make, including the food we eat ourselves, and the way we live our lives, can make a difference in the availability of food for other people.”
Hunger Week includes a series of activities on the campus which will educate students, staff and members of the public about food and its distribution around the world. The week will also include several fund raising opportunities for Neighbors in Need of Madison County and MANNA foodbank.
One such fundraiser is an “Empty Bowls” Dinner, to be held in cooperation with Mars Hill Baptist church. On Wednesday night and Thursday, students have the opportunity to fast voluntarily, and donate the money they would otherwise have spent on meals to MANNA foodbank. Perhaps the most descriptive event of the week will be the OxFam Hunger Banquet, planned for Tuesday evening. At the banquet, a few people will be randomly selected eat a full meal off fine china, while the majority of the attendants will receive a bowl of rice – or nothing — and sit on the floor.
“The Oxfam Hunger Banquet is just a way to illustrate the disparity between how we eat in the developed world, and how people eat in the rest of the world. It is a moving reminder of the needs of our neighbors around the world,” Thompson said. “But more locally, the events of Hunger Week are about coming together to help our geographic neighbors, an ethic that has long been a part of the fabric of western North Carolina and of Mars Hill College.”
Events for Hunger Week at Mars Hill College include:
April 5 – Food Documentary Showing, 7-9 pm Harris Media Center
This is a screening of a popular food documentary and there will be a discussion held afterward.
April 6 – Oxfam Hunger Banquet, 6-7 pm Redway Dining Room, Pittman Cafeteria
The Hunger Banquet will have a demonstration of hunger throughout the world with guest speakers, Aubrey Raper, Sociology Professor, and Heather Spencer, Director of Homeward Bound of Asheville.
April 6 – Food for Fashion Show, 7:30 – 9 pm, “The Loft,” McConnell Hall.
The Fashion Show will be presented by the Business students. Participants are encouraged to bring a canned food donation to Neighbors in Need of Madison County
April 7 – Empty Bowls Dinner, 5:30 – 7 pm Mars Hill Baptist Church Fellowship Hall.
This fundraiser for Neighbors in Need will be held at Mars Hill Baptist Fellowship Hall from 5:30-7:00 pm, bowls are donated by the pottery classes at Mars Hill College and community members. Tickets are $10, which includes the bowl of your choice, soup and salad, drinks and dessert.
April 8 – Speaker from Madison Family Farms, 12 pm in Ferguson Math and Science Center, rm 338
Catherine Walker from Madison Family Farms will be talking about food, agriculture and sustainability at 12 pm in Dr. Kari Loomis’s nutrition class.
April 8 – Open Mic Night, 7-10 pm, Timberline, Wren Student Union.
Open Mic Night will be in Timberline from 7-10 pm and will help wind down the main part of Hunger Week. It will be the party after breaking the fast, during which students will donate up to 2 meals to MANNA Foodbank.
April 10 – Crop Walk, 10 – 1 pm, begin in LifeWorks Parking Lot beside Renfro Library.
This is an opportunity to raise money for Haiti. Crop Walk will begin at 10 am until approx. 1 p.m.