The Auburn community will be battling hunger April 6 through 11
as one student organization leads Spring Hunger Week.
The Committee of 19, represented by members from every school
and college, is a campus organization aimed at fighting world hunger.
The group works to fight hunger both locally and internationally by
spreading awareness and leading and participating in events to cure
hunger.
The committee's name was created based on the 19 cents it cost
in 2004 to feed a starving person daily. The cost has now risen to 25
cents a day, according to the United Nations World Food Programme, but
the committee's goals have remained the same.
One of the events the Committee of 19 puts on each year is
Hunger Awareness Week.
Committee of 19 Adviser Harriet Giles said Spring Hunger Week
will be hugely beneficial to Auburn's War on Hunger campaign.
"Traditionally, we have only had Hunger Awareness Week in the
fall semester," said vice president of Committee of 19, Emma Keller,
"but this year we decided creating awareness about hunger should not
be limited to one semester. "
Spring Hunger Week consists of different activities for students
and faculty to help battle hunger.
Monday through Friday, the College of Business sub-committee is
hosting "I Sacked Hunger." Students can pick up a brown paper bag from
Lowder Business Building to fill with canned goods to be donated to East
Alabama Food Bank.
"It's an easy way to get involved and to benefit the food bank,"
said Courtni Ward, College of Business representative for Committee of
19. "Our goal is to raise 2,000 pounds of food, but we hope to surpass
this."
College of Business volunteers will also collect old cell phones
to be turned into loans and given to the poor on Monday at Lowder.
Tuesday through Thursday, the College of Human Sciences sub-committee
will host "Blooming Change: Plant a Seed for a Child in Need." Students
can buy a spring planting kit for $3 which will be donated to the WFP.
The College of Education sub-committee will collect money for the same
organization on Wednesday at the Auburn University Bookstore.
Douglas Coutts from the WFP will speak at the Undergraduate
Research Forum about hunger research on Tuesday. The event is open to
the public and will be at 6 p.m. in the Forestry building.
Keller said this is an important event because spreading
awareness is crucial to fighting the war on hunger.
"It doesn't take a lot to make a big difference," Keller said.
Spring Hunger Week will come to a close on Saturday as the
Committee of 19 collects non-perishable food items at Kroger in Tiger
Town.
Spring Hunger Week will help battle both local and world hunger.
Locally, the Committee of 19 supports East Alabama Food Bank. Since
2004, the committee has raised more than 600,000 pounds of food, Keller
said. Internationally, the committee raises money for the WFP.
"The World Food Programme uses the money to buy food locally in
the country they are providing aid for," Keller said. "This is something
we couldn't easily do."
The Auburn community has the opportunity to make a huge impact
on the war on hunger.
"As Auburn's war on hunger campaign, we want Auburn to
understand that hunger is something we have the power to change," Ward
said. "We can do amazing things as small groups, but when we work
together, the effects are multiplied. And once you see how incredible
the changes we can make are, you will realize how realistic it is to
make world hunger a chapter in history books rather than a lesson in
current events."
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