On Wednesday, the Emerson Key Club hosted its annual Hunger Banquet in the cafeteria to spread awareness about hunger around the globe. Members of the club are divided into three groups: low class, middle class, and high class. 

Groups were split up into different parts of the cafeteria and experienced where certain people ate their food. The members of the club get to experience certain levels of poverty by eating what they eat. 

Members who represented what it’s like to come from a lower class sat on the floor eating rice and water. Another group representing the middle class sat at a table, but were only given rice and beans with water. The final group sat at a long table with a cloth and ate dessert, turkey, and salads with soda and water. This group represented the high class. 

Some members of the club weren’t happy with where they ate or what they ate, but that was  the point of the banquet. 

 “This has changed my perspective on hunger because now I know what’s going on around the world. I hadn’t thought about hunger before this event because it never affected me,” said sophomore Matthew Cappelluti. 

Around the world, there are 45 million children across the globe suffering from severe malnutrition each year. Each day, 25,000 people die from hunger-related causes, 10,000 of those being children. Over 40 million people in the U.S. live in poverty, 12 million of those being children.

“I realized how interested and surprised all the members were about the statistics of how much poverty is around us,” said junior class treasurer Gillian Pasqualino. 

Although most members of the club didn’t enjoy their meal, this event provided a valuable lesson on hunger. 

“I learned that there are very big gaps in wealth around the world. The high class didn’t make as much money as expected. You have to be fortunate for the resources you have around you. We have more than you realize,” said Pasqualino.

The awareness formed from the Hunger Banquet reminded everyone that, around the world, not everybody can get what they want and not everybody has a meal at their table.