Hunger Banquet

D&C 104:17 - For the earth is full, and there is enough and to spare; yea, I prepared all things ...

3 Nephi 6:12 - And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning; yea, some were ignorant because of their poverty, and others did receive great learning because of their riches.

Some people think that hunger is about too many people and too little food, but the Lord has taught us otherwise. Hunger is more about corruption, greed and ignorance.

The theme for BYU's 17 Annual Hunger Banquet was literacy. While the poor and impoverish are lacking in education, it will be almost impossible for them to rise out of their circumstances.

Waiting in line

{If you are unfamiliar with how the Hunger Banquet works, here's the run down:

Everybody pays the same amount for a ticket, but then we are randomly assigned an income level.

Third World Country: 70% of the people sit on the floor and eat rice and beans.

Second World Country: 20% of the people sit on chairs and get a piece of pizza.

First World Country: 10% of the people sit at tables and eat a nice full course meal.

This represents the inequality in the world today.}

I went with my mom and two younger sisters. We were assigned to be in the second world country. In honesty I would have rather been in the third world country. They got a bowl of rice and beans, plus a plate of tortilla chips,while we got one piece of pizza. I think that the third world people actually eat more than we did.

My two sisters were asked to go around and sell roses, representing the fact that many children are forced to work to help their families have enough money. My sisters taught it was so fun, and was definitely the highlight of their evening.

The highlight of my evening was when after the speaker was explaining about hunger and poverty and showing us by looking around the room the great inequality in the world my 5 year old sister asks, while staring at the people sitting on the floor:


"A lot of people in world can't eat because they don't have any money?"

"Yes."

"Why don't they have any money?"

I am at a loss for words; how do I explain poverty and corrupt governments and so forth?

Being lucky to sit in seats

If you are in area, make sure you put the Hunger Banquet on your calendar for next year!

{All the food was donated, so the money earned from the ticket and flower sales goes directly to helping the poor. Last year the money was spent in helping a school in the Congo build a business so that the school can be funded from the profits and become self sustaining.}