Area teens invited to hunger banquet

DePauw University's Hartman House will sponsor the Oxfam Hunger Banquet in celebration of National Youth Service Day on Thursday.

The Hunger Banquet was originally created by Oxfam America, a non-profit organization that works to end global poverty, and has been presented to many groups around the country since its development.

National Youth Service Day is a day where the youth come out to volunteer in the community. Typically there is an organized day of direct service planned. This year, this active participation will occur in the form of the Hunger Banquet. The Hunger Banquet will help spread educational awareness of the realities of the world -- particularly pertaining to hunger and global poverty.

At any given moment, there are 850 million people in the world suffering from hunger, and every day 30,000 children under the age of five die of preventable causes including malnutrition. The Oxfam Hunger Banquet will be an interactive dinner that will simulate world poverty. In addition to the dinner, there will be speakers, statistics, and a DVD speech from Jeffrey Sachs, a world renowned economist from Columbia University. The dinner is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required due to the nature of the event.

The Hunger Banquet will take place in the Different Drummer restaurant in the Walden Inn from 6-7:30pm. All local teenagers are strongly encouraged to attend this moving and educational event. Parents and community members are welcome as well. Anyone interested in attending or wanting more information should contact Michelle Hasler at

658-4622, or by e-mail at depauwhungerbanquet@gmail.com.