Whittier College students will get a taste of food inequality first-hand during Whittier College’s Food Recovery Network’s (FRN) upcoming Hunger Banquet, taking place on Wednesday, February 10 at 5:30 p.m. in the campus courtyard. During this Hunger Banquet students will experience a simulation of the unequal distribution of food where they will be randomly assigned an income level and then fed a meal provided by Bon Appétit based on their socioeconomic status.
FRN encourages Poets, staff, faculty, friends and family to participate in this free interactive meal that will be followed by an open discussion led by Bon Appétit West Coast fellow Autumn Rauchwerk who will present on the issue of food insecurity in the U.S. “The goal of the Hunger Banquet is to open students’ eyes on the issue of poverty, hunger and the class system in a way that inspires change and service,” junior and FRN president Maria Rodriguez said.
FRN event coordinator and transfer student Alma Corado ‘17 spearheaded the idea of holding a hunger banquet after it was held at her former campus. “I have attended a hunger banquet before and I must say it was a thought-provoking experience that gives you a new perspective on the inequality of hunger,” Corado said.
Rodriguez hopes to expand membership and community partnerships through Whittier’s FRN chapter that is largely overlooked despite its status as one of the student movements against hunger that is changing the norm from food waste to food recovery.
“We are trying to see if we could partner with other restaurants including Starbucks and Olive Garden because Ben Gonzalez, the Director of Soup Hour, the soup kitchen at St. Matthias Church, told us that that the homeless suffer in the summer time because [Campus Inn] is closed and they get their protein from us so we want to expand our partnerships with other businesses and organizations.”
By Lightmary Flores '17
