Hunger is not just an issue for people living in third world countries, but having enough food is a challenge for many people in Northeast Tennessee attendees learned at an Oxfam Hunger Banquet on Thursday (Nov. 17) at Tusculum College.
The Bonner Leader student service organization and the Center for Civic Advancement sponsored the event that is designed to raise awareness of the issue of hunger locally as well as worldwide.
Annually, 70,500 people receive food assistance from the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee, and of those assisted, 34 percent of households have a child under 18-years-old and five percent are elderly, it was noted during the event.
Other statistics shared during the event involved decisions that those who have sought help at Second Harvest Food Bank have had to make. Forty-two percent have had to choose between buying food or paying for utilities, 39 percent decide between paying for medical care or medicine and purchasing food, 27 percent between making a mortgage or rent payment or buying food and 77 percent face decisions of either purchasing gas for transportation or food.
The challenges faced by those helped by Second Harvest Food Bank are shared by many across the U.S. In 2010, 17.2 million households or approximately one in seven were food insecure, the highest number ever recorded in the United States, it was noted.
The Hunger Banquet provided the attendees a dining experience that illustrates the daily reality for the world’s population in terms of food resources. Each person was given tickets with a personal story about someone at a specific economic level, assigning them to sit in an area representing that economic level. During the event, some personal stories were read with a change in circumstance added that changed their income position, usually to a lower level.
A majority sat in the low income level, representing the portion of the world’s population that lives in dire poverty and for whom having enough to eat is a daily struggle. People in this level were given plain rice and water. They sat on the floor, eating the rice with their fingers.
About 25 percent were in the middle income level, representing people with an income of up to around $10,000. They sat in chairs and served themselves beans and rice with water.
The smallest percentage of people sat at the high income level at tidy, adorned tables and served three-course meals.
Some of the participants in the Oxfam Hunger Banquet at Tusculum College changed seating positions between income levels to illustrate how even small changes can lead to a significant change in economic circumstances.