Spring Break
Hunger 101 Highlights Local Issue
Danielle Hoo
Issue date: 3/28/07 Section: News
The workshop gave students an opportunity to experience what it is like for someone struggling with food insecurity. Participants were given a refrigerator card that included a description of a new identity and a budget to work with in order to buy food for their new fictional family.
There were four stations that participants could visit, in an attempt to secure their family's dinner for that night. The stations included a small grocery store, with limited merchandise, a food pantry that was operated by a disgruntled worker, an opportunity to apply for emergency money, which proved to be impossible because the forms were in Spanish, and human services, which were not very inclined to hand out food stamps. Some participants had restrictions such as not owning an oven or not being documented, which created further challenges in securing food. Needless to say, the struggle to obtain food, much like the struggle that many in the local area experience, was frustrating and difficult.
"I think that [the Hunger 101 workshop] is a really good program and showed how frustrating it is for people who get by on almost nothing," Megan Corning, a 2nd-semester psychology major and member of ConnPIRG said. "It definitely did a good job showing how [hunger] is a big problem in our community. We think of hunger as something not local."
ConnPIRG is participating in the 23rd annual Hunger Clean Up on April 14, which is a day of volunteering at local hunger and homelessness relief agencies and fund-raising in an attempt to alleviate and end local hunger. The Hunger Clean Up also makes an effort to raise awareness in the community.
"One thing that I've learned is students who talk a risk and get involved now will be more likely to get involved later," Sarah Santora, the volunteer services representative for Foodshare said. "This generation will be a bigger resource, because [community] service is often required for service clubs, faith communities and it really helps."
There were four stations that participants could visit, in an attempt to secure their family's dinner for that night. The stations included a small grocery store, with limited merchandise, a food pantry that was operated by a disgruntled worker, an opportunity to apply for emergency money, which proved to be impossible because the forms were in Spanish, and human services, which were not very inclined to hand out food stamps. Some participants had restrictions such as not owning an oven or not being documented, which created further challenges in securing food. Needless to say, the struggle to obtain food, much like the struggle that many in the local area experience, was frustrating and difficult.
"I think that [the Hunger 101 workshop] is a really good program and showed how frustrating it is for people who get by on almost nothing," Megan Corning, a 2nd-semester psychology major and member of ConnPIRG said. "It definitely did a good job showing how [hunger] is a big problem in our community. We think of hunger as something not local."
ConnPIRG is participating in the 23rd annual Hunger Clean Up on April 14, which is a day of volunteering at local hunger and homelessness relief agencies and fund-raising in an attempt to alleviate and end local hunger. The Hunger Clean Up also makes an effort to raise awareness in the community.
"One thing that I've learned is students who talk a risk and get involved now will be more likely to get involved later," Sarah Santora, the volunteer services representative for Foodshare said. "This generation will be a bigger resource, because [community] service is often required for service clubs, faith communities and it really helps."
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Larry Wood
posted 3/28/07 @ 3:43 PM EST
Hunger in the United States is a horrible thing. We have not addrerssed this as a people and it needs a lot of attention. Hunger is probably our National Disgrace. (Continued…)
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