A "Hunger Banquet" was hosted Sunday at Tusculum College by members of the sixth block Service-Learning class. Participants were divided into three income groups who were served different meals, although there was some sharing of food between groups, above. Elizabeth Gordon, at the lectern at right, shares some national and international statistics about poverty to the group. (Tusculum College photo)

Tusculum College students host 'Hunger Banquet'

Imagine standing in line for a few spoonfuls of rice for your dinner while people next to you enjoy a three-course meal seated at a handsomely decorated table.

Wait.

Your mental picture is not yet complete. Imagine then sitting down on a hard floor to eat your scant meal without any utensils or anything to drink while waiters serve those at the table their food on fine china.

This unusual scenario was how the majority of the participants in a "Hunger Banquet" Sunday evening at Tusculum College (Feb. 23) found themselves once food began to be served.

Participants in the event, hosted by students in the current Service-Learning class, were divided into three income groups (low, middle, and upper) to represent the percentage of people worldwide who fall into those categories, according to statistics from Oxfam America, part of the Oxfam International hunger relief organization.

Learning about hunger and homelessness during their service-learning course, the Tusculum students hosted the Hunger Banquet to increase others' knowledge of these issues both locally and globally. And the banquet provided many opportunities to learn both from information presented and the experience itself.

Thanking the students for their efforts, Carmen Ricker, director of the Greeneville-Greene County Community Ministries, noted that hunger remains a reality in Greene County. The Community Ministries, which operates the local food bank, served 131,000 meals to people during the past year, she continued.

Those attending the Hunger Banquet were asked to bring non-perishable food items or make a donation to benefit the local food bank operated by the Greeneville-Greene County Community Ministries and Oxfam America. The students collected 10 boxes of food for the local food bank and more than $100 in donations for the local service organization and Oxfam America.

Bob Merritt, one of the masters of ceremonies for the event, explained that the large group of people seated on the floor represented 55 percent of the world's population who may make as little as $1 or $2 a day, often go hungry, live in shanty-type housing if any at all, lack adequate health care, and have very limited if any opportunities for education.

The middle income group, who sat on chairs and ate rice and beans served buffet style, represented the 30 percent of the world's population who make a subsistence living and whose male children have an opportunity for some education, Merritt said.

Those being served the full meal at the table, he noted, were representative of the upper income group, the 15 percent of the world's population who make more than about $9,000 annually and have plenty to eat, educational opportunities, and adequate health care.

There was some sharing of food and utensils between the groups, and one person at the upper income table traded places with one person from the low income group.

Random factors come into play to determine an individual's income group, Merritt explained, as displayed in how the seating was determined for the banquet. When people entered, they were asked to draw a small piece of paper from a basket. On one side of the paper, an income level was written and on the other was a description of a person that Oxfam has either assisted or worked with in its efforts.

To help illustrate the possibility for movement between groups and how quickly situations can change, a handful of people from the low income group moved up to the middle income group due to gaining a better job and a corresponding number of the middle income group found places on the floor as their circumstances changed for worse. One of those scenarios involved people losing their jobs after demanding better working conditions.

Although many people think about poverty being a third-world problem, Merritt said he daily sees people facing these same conditions in his work in the Downtown Clinic in Johnson City, which provides medical care to low income individuals. "We have 100 people sleeping on the street every night in Johnson City, and that's not far away," he said.

Elizabeth Gordon, who also served as a master of ceremonies, shared information about hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world as well as ways people can help.

The Hunger Banquet was a many-faceted project for the students as they planned and publicized the event. During the banquet itself, the students collected donations for local food banks, helped guests find their designated places, served the food and cleaned up afterwards in the Chalmers Conference Center in the Niswonger Commons, where the event was held. Robin Fife, director of Tusculum's Service-Learning Center, is the instructor for the course.

Sponsors for the event included Tusculum's Service-Learning Center, the Service-Leaders Scholars, Sodexho (which provides Tusculum's food service), Campus Life, and Just Connections, a non-profit organization of community organizations and colleges in the Appalachian region committed to justice and economic sustainability.