The Student Government Association passed a resolution last semester to donate 19 cents per Auburn student to the Auburn University War on Hunger.
SGA will make the donation on an annual basis. This year’s total donation is $4,586 based on this year’s enrollment.
SGA chose 19 cents per student for two reasons. First, the World Food Programme, the largest humanitarian organization in the world, has historically fed a school child in the developing world for an average of 19 cents per day.
“We chose 19 cents per student because it takes 19 cents to feed one child,” said Tommy Horton, an SGA senator for the College of Architecture, Design and Construction.
The amount of 19 cents also represents the Committee of 19, the group of Auburn students who direct the War on Hunger on campus and in the local community.
The efforts began in 2004, when the World Food Programme chose Auburn to lead the first student-led efforts in the War on Hunger.
The group has expanded since it began.
“We have gone from a group with a lot of ideas to a well-established bunch that is actually making a difference on Auburn’s campus and around the world,” said Haley Walker, president of the AU Committee of 19.
Walker said she is excited about SGA’s decision to donate the money.
“The fact they are willing to donate 19 cents per student, per year, speaks volumes about where the hearts of Auburn students lie,” she said.
“They are behind us 100 percent, and that feeds our momentum.”
The focus of the campaign is to raise awareness of local hunger initiatives and to fight against world hunger and malnutrition.
Last year marked Auburn’s inaugural Hunger Awareness Week.
“We have raised a lot of money and educated a lot of students about the War on Hunger,” Walker said. “Just last semester, we packaged 103,586 meals to be shipped to Haiti for school feeding programs, collected hundreds of pounds of canned goods and collected over $300 in spare change on the Concourse.”
Auburn also led the way this year in establishing and launching the national alliance of Universities Fighting World Hunger.
“I think it’s a really neat way to show everyone that Auburn University cares about hunger in the world, and I think it’s really great that we’re raising awareness for it,” Horton said.
Horton said he wanted to support the resolution when it came up in Senate.
“I voted for it because I feel like it’s important since we have everything we need and want in America,” he said. “I feel like it’s important for us to give back to not only our community, but also the world.”
Walker said the future of the program is bright.
“There are endless possibilities as to what can be done through our organization,” she said. “Our goals for the upcoming year are to continue improving, get more students involved and to target every college in the state of Alabama.”
The program will also sponsor Hunger Week in mid-October.
“Our long term goal is to have every college in the world working to end this War on Hunger,” Walker said. “It is a war that can be won, and college students are starting to recognize that they have a place and a voice in this battle.”
