"When will we get to the point where even one hungry person makes us mad, instead of handing the problem over to someone else?" Randall Quan '93, Volunteer Coordinator for the Tucker Foundation, said in his introductory remarks last night for the keynote speaker of Hunger Awareness Week.
John Morrill, executive director for the Hunger Caucus in Washington D.C., delivered the keynote address, titled "Developing the Political Will to End Hunger." to about 20 people last night. But the speech was quickly transformed into a discussion.
Morrill said that "35,000 people die every day from hunger or hunger related diseases. In disaster situations, we react so well. Yet this is a solvable problem ... we aren't doing enough."
In 1993, Congress eliminated its Select Committee on Hunger. After a great struggle -- including a 22-day hunger fast -- Committee Chair Committee Tony Hall (D-Ohio) was able to receive funding for the Congressional Hunger Caucus and the Congressional Hunger Center, Morrill said.
The Caucus members now travel around the world trying to educate people about the hunger problem. The group recently began a program in 800 schools to help make children more aware of the hunger problem.
Other events for Hunger Awareness Week include a candlelight vigil on the Green today at 5:30 p.m. followed by an a cappella concert in Webster at 8 p.m. On Friday, there will be a campus wide collection for the food drive and on Saturday there will be a community food drive with collection sites near local grocery stores. Sigma Delta sorority will host an unplugged concert Saturday at 9 p.m.
