Cultivating Community: Tabling Hunger

Do you know when your next meal is coming?

On Monday, September 10, we partnered with North Linn High School FFA to shed light on hunger in Linn County by hosting our first hunger banquet, Tabling Hunger.

During the program, Linda Gorkow, HACAP Food Resevoir, and Amy Geiger, UWECI, educated attendees about just how many of our neighbors are going hungry. In Linn County, 26,340 people go to bed hungry, which is why North Linn FFA chose to partner with UWECI to raise awareness.

More than 80 guests experienced first-hand how food insecurity feels. We divided the room into three sections which determined the meal they received.

Group 1: Received a full, nutritious meal, including a protein, vegetable, and grain.
Group 2: Received a vegetable and grain, but no protein.
Group 3: Received only rice.

FFA students served each guest so they could see they were receiving more or less food than their neighbors. “My wife felt bad initially, because she received a full meal while others were only given rice. It's important to realize the importance of being aware of the needs in our community because so many of us take our luxury for granted,” said Tom Murphy, North Linn High School FFA Advisor.

To wrap up the evening North Linn student and FFA member, Kaitlyn Bean, highlighted the work of their FFA chapter to fight hunger and increase awareness of the resources and nonprofits available in the North Linn community. She encouraged attendees to visit with six nonprofits that hosted tables at the event to learn how they could get involved by volunteering, advocating, or donating.

North Linn FFA students will use the proceeds raised from Tabling Hunger to:

Create a backpack program that allows students to bring food home on the weekends when they may otherwise not have access to meals.
Provide North Linn County access to the HACAP mobile food truck for the first time.