Submitted by Chrissy Bevacqua, Seton Hall University
Need a program idea that ties in cultural diversity? Try the OxFam America Hunger Banquet. OxFam is a leading supporter in the fight against world hunger. This is a dinner to bring about awareness of the starvation that occurs everyday in countries around the world. Participants in the dinner are split into groups (“economic classes”) without knowing what their group represents. The speaker will explain the social class of each of the groups, which corresponds to the type of meal each receives. If you are in the poverty-stricken group, you will be served rice and water, with no utensils, etc. The middle-class (slightly developed countries) will receive rice and beans, ample amount of water and limited utensils. The established-economy group will be served a full course meal. Allow a few weeks for delivery of the supplies. See link that follows for more information…
Submitted by Caitlin, Northeastern University
Hi all – I am an RA at Northeastern University and currently work for Oxfam America. I did an Oxfam America Hunger Banquet® as a program with my residents and it was awesome! It’s easy to organize, not expensive, and meaningful.
Description:
This is an powerful program to raise awareness about global hunger, poverty, and injustice! It involves inviting residents to a “banquet” where each guest is randomly assigned to play a role of a person at a high, medium, or low income level. Meals are served accordingly, so people will get a taste of what it feels like to be well-fed or hungry. Participants gain unique insight into the struggles of poverty and how sustainable solutions can help a village for years to come.
Instructions/Things Needed:
Food for the banquet – will range between a nice dinner for some, and just portions of rice and water for others.
Oxfam will send you FREE resources like banners, discussion guides, posters, stickers, etc!!!
Other Considerations:
World Hunger Day is October 16, so this is a cool program to coincide with that day. Also, I tried this program around Thanksgiving in an attempt to make my residents truly think about what it means to be thankful.
**Oxfam has a FREE planning guide for you to help you organize a banquet and know what kinds of questions to ask. You can download this Hunger Banquet toolkit here: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/take-action/events/hunger-banquet/.
I think that the Hunger Banquet is seriously the perfect RA program – and obviously I love it so much that I decided to work for Oxfam J