In just a few years, the food pantry at Hendricks Chapel has become a hub for the hungry. Now, the chapel is leading a semester-long initiative to raise hunger awareness on campus.

“We always think of SU as a rich school, but even within our university there are people who don’t have enough to eat,” said Buddhist Chaplain Jikyo Bonnie Shoultz.

To address global and local hunger, Hendricks officials launched One Hunger, an interfaith hunger awareness and action campaign for the fall semester, she said. One Hunger consists of three interfaith events, with all of the Hendricks student groups working together. Through these events, Hendricks officials hope to inform the community that world hunger is a problem that should not only be addressed charitably, but politically, Shoultz said.

Shoultz said she believes this change needs to start with classifying food as a basic human right. Current political issues regarding food stamp programs, she said, are in regression in the fight against world hunger.

“What advocates for these cuts don’t admit is that a lot of people on food stamps are disabled, elderly or working minimum-wage jobs without enough money to feed their families and pay rent,” she said. “Denial of these realistic problems is used as excuses to support the idea that government is wasting money.”

The first event, a lecture by Buddhist monk Bhikkhu Bodhi, took place last week. He spoke about world hunger and food productivity. 

The second event is Oct. 24 – National Food Day – and will focus on food access and nutrition, Shoultz said. The third will be a 24-hour fast starting Nov. 9, she said.

The fast will include packing 20,000 meals in two hours for local food pantries, she added.

“The fast is meant to strip some of the extra stuff away in order to have an inward denial of self that will create new awareness of the greater good, inwardly and outwardly,” said Colleen Preuninger, chaplain for the United Methodist Ecumenical Campus Ministry.

One Hunger organizers encourage students who want to get involved to contact the Office of Engagement Programs.

In addition to these three events, 10 campus ministries, student-run religious groups and the Office of Student Engagement will actively address the issue of hunger within their own faith traditions, Preuninger added.

Said Preuninger: “There is place for everyone to give back to their local community and connect with service organizations that provides sustainable personal growth that allows us to become global citizens.”

Published on September 25, 2013 at 12:44 am

Contact Lydia: lawilson@syr.edu