On Wednesday, Nov. 19, the International Center at UNF hosted an Oxfam Hunger Banquet to raise awareness for world hunger. The event involved students being separated into groups based on randomly assigned income levels, and then being served food they would be able to afford with their assigned income. As students arrived, they were given a piece of paper with low, middle, or upper class written on it. From here, the students were positioned around the room based on their class. The students in the upper class sat at a pre-set table covered in food, drinks and even desserts. The middle class sat at a table with no food or drinks before them and, lastly, the lower class was relegated to the center of the floor with absolutely nothing. As the presentation went on, individuals’ income levels were changed at random to reflect the uncertainty of life. When the meal was finally served, individuals in the upper class were brought steaming entrees from the kitchen while the middle class had to settle for rice and beans, and the lower class just rice.

After everyone had finished their meals, the hosts introduced the guest speaker for the evening: Director of Procurement for Farm Share, Inc., Brian Phelan. Phelan gave the participants a brief overview of his work with Farm Share and why it is so important, not only on a global scale, but also locally. Established in 1991, Farm Share is dedicated to distributing food to those who need it, free of charge. For the most part, Farm Share relies on volunteers and since they have a distribution warehouse here in Jacksonville, there are plenty of opportunities for any student looking to get involved.