Action Tips: Hosting an Oxfam America Hunger Banquet

Are people not grasping the problem of global hunger and poverty? Host an Oxfam America Hunger Banquet to raise awareness in your neighborhood. Unique and memorable, this event allows your guests to experience firsthand how our decisions affect others in the world.

The Goal

The event will

• Educate your guests on hunger issues.
• Raise funds to support poverty-fighting work.
• Recruit new people to your cause.

Publicize

Create posters and fliers, but don't give too much away. Guests should know that the purpose of the event is to learn about hunger, but the way they learn should be a surprise.

Set Up

Guests draw tickets at random that assign them each to either a high, middle, or low-income. They will then receive a corresponding meal.

• Multiply your total guests by .15. That number is the top 15 percent, the high-income tier that are served a sumptuous meal.
• Multiply your total guests by .35. That number is the middle 35 percent section. They will eat a simple meal of rice and beans.
• The leftover 50 percent in the low-income tier help themselves to small portions of rice and water.

Guests can also assume characterizations that describe the situation of a specific person at the income level to which they've been assigned.

Reflect

Finally, guests are invited to share their thoughts after their meals. This can be a guided reflection or allow everybody involved to speak freely.

After the Oxfam America Hunger Banquet, few participants leave with full stomachs, but all possess a greater understanding of the problems of hunger and poverty and will hopefully be motivated to do something about them.

The objectives of the Oxfam America Hunger Banquet are:

• Understand the global disparity in food security.
• Learn basic facts about world hunger.
• Recognize the components of long-term food security.

Details on how to plan a Oxfam America Hunger Banquet in your own neighborhood can be found at Oxfam America Hunger Banquet.