Oregon has been known for having one of the highest hunger rates nationwide since 1998.
This week, OSPIRG is sponsoring World Hunger Week, a time for students and community members to come together and learn about the devastating effects hunger has on the world.
The Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group has three events planned for the week.
The first event is a teach-in and will take place tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the EMU Gumwood Room. University OSPIRG Chairman Tim Johnson said the goal of the teach-in is to eliminate apathy toward hunger and increase awareness in the community.
On Wednesday there will be an awareness festival in the EMU Fishbowl starting at 11 a.m. and lasting until 2 p.m.
Finally, OSPIRG will be hosting a hunger banquet Thursday evening at the Delta Tau Delta house, located at 19th Avenue and University Street.
Ruth Fuller — a spokeswoman for Better Safer World, a coalition focusing on issues of world poverty and hunger — said a hunger banquet is a very effective way for people to understand how hunger feels.
“It’s a real world dramatization of unequal distribution,” Fuller said.
At a hunger banquet, people draw a ticket that has one of three colors on it. The first 15 percent of the people at the banquet will receive a lavish, five-course meal complete with plates and silverware, while 35 percent will receive a meal of rice and beans. These ticket holders will also be able to sit at tables.
The remaining 55 percent will only be allowed rice and water, which they must fetch from the kitchen. They are not allowed to eat at a table and must sit on the floor instead.
Fuller said the point of the banquet is to teach people about what life is like in developing countries.
Lurma Rackley — a spokeswoman for CARE USA, an organization dedicated to ending hunger and poverty — said events such as hunger banquets increase awareness among those who may not realize the harsh reality of hunger.
“People can get caught up in their own daily lives, and they may not realize how difficult it can be for others,” she said. “A week like this brings attention to the plight of fellow man across the world.”
The hunger banquet will start at 6:30 p.m. and costs $3 for students and $5 for community members. All the proceeds will go to FOOD for Lane County.
FOOD for Lane County Interim Executive Director Jessica Chanay said one of the biggest factors in Oregon’s hunger problem is that Oregon has been shifting away from higher-paying manufacturing jobs to lower-paying retail jobs.
“Those types of wages do not keep up with the economy,” Chanay said, also pointing out that many people cannot afford to pay rent, much less buy a house.
Since 1976, average wages in Lane County have decreased 10.5 percent, according to Oregon Employment Department figures. The department also projects that one in five job openings from 2002 to 2012 will be in service jobs, such as working in a restaurant or janitorial work.
The Oregon Food Bank profiled poverty and hunger in Oregon from 2002 to 2003 and found that another factor for the high hunger rate in Oregon may be a lack of food stamps. According to the report, 94 percent of survey respondents said their monthly food stamps run out at least a week before the end of the month.
Many claim the high cost of housing in Oregon also contributes to the problem.
In 2002, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that 47 percent of people spend more than 50 percent of their income on housing. The National Low Income Housing Coalition added to the findings, saying that with the current minimum wage in Oregon, a person would have to work 79 hours a week to afford a two bedroom unit at fair market rent.
The Oregon Center for Public Policy traced Oregon’s hunger problem to four main conditions, the first being that housing costs have soared while wages have stagnated. Second, the gap between rich and poor grew four times faster in Oregon than nationally, and third, the nature of employment has changed. Finally, rural Oregon does poorly because more seasonal employment equals low annual incomes overall.
For more information, visit the Oregon Food Bank Web site at http://www.oregonfoodbank.org.