February 19, 2013

For Immediate Release

University Marketing & Communications: Mike Rigert (801) 863-6807

Written by: Karissa Neely (801) 863-6807

To raise awareness of Utah’s hunger and poverty issues, the Utah Valley University Volunteer & Service-Learning Center and Student Service Council will host the annual UVU Hunger Banquet Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Grande Ballroom of the Sorensen Student Center. All proceeds will benefit the non-profit organization Utahns Against Hunger.

“The Hunger Banquet is unique,” said Laura Christopherson, program coordinator for UVU’s Volunteer & Service-Learning Center. “At this event, the interactions that participants have — from the place they will sit, to the meal they will eat — will be determined by luck of the draw. This is similar to how it is in real life; some of us are born into prosperity and others into poverty.”

The event is anticipating 400 participants who are assigned, at random, an economic class that they will then represent throughout the night. The highest income tier will have a cordon bleu chicken dinner with side courses, beverages and dessert. The lowest income tier will be served rice and beans.

“I got involved with this because I became aware of the statistics, the thousands of people dying each day because of hunger — due to poverty and lack of food. It horrifies me,” Liz Jarema, a UVU student and the banquet’s coordinator, said. “This event brings awareness to this. If everyone understood the magnitude of this issue, then we could bring about real change right here in our own community.”

The speaker for the evening is Lindsay Hadley, a representative of the Global Poverty Project. Approximately 1.4 billion people worldwide live in extreme poverty, according to the project’s data. The Global Poverty Project’s mission is to increase the number and effectiveness of people taking action to end to extreme poverty.

“I was born and raised in a Third World country, myself, and I don’t want to see children, especially, suffering through what I did,” Jarema said. “This is an opportunity for students to serve others locally. That’s why our proceeds go to Utahns Against Hunger. When you are given much, much is required of you to give back.”

Advance tickets, which can be purchased at Campus Connection in the Sorensen Student Center, are $5. For more information about Utahns Against Hunger, visit UAH.org. For more information about The Global Poverty Project, go to globalpovertyproject.com.

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About UVU

Utah Valley University is located in Orem, Utah, and is home to more than 30,000 students. UVU began as a vocational school during World War II, and in the seven decades since has evolved into a technical school, community school, state college and, finally, a comprehensive regional teaching university. UVU is one of Utah’s largest institutions of higher learning and offers programs ranging from career training to high-demand master degrees, with emphasis on undergraduate education.