Hunger Banquet teaches sobering lesson

FALLS VILLAGE — One group of students sat at an ordinary cafeteria table. A smaller group sat at a much fancier table, with a tablecloth and proper place settings.And the largest group sat on the floor.It was all designed to illustrate the problem of world hunger, and the students making the point were members of the FFA and American Field Service organizations at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. The Hunger Banquet was held Wednesday, Feb. 22.The three groups of students, totaling 30, were distributed initially with 57 percent in the low-income group. That meant 17 of the 30 students were on the floor.The middle-income group had nine students, or 30 percent. And the high-income group had four students sitting at the fancy table, representing 13 percent of the world’s population.But the categories were not static. One student, representing a Guatemalan farmer who had a bad corn crop, was moved from the middle-income table to the floor, to demonstrate how precarious the hold on having enough to eat can be in much of the world.What’s in store for the poorest people? Marissa Larson painted a grim picture — families with an annual income of $980 per year, who spend the bulk of their day finding adequate water, food and shelter; who do not get enough calories; who are either homeless or living in substandard housing; who receive little, if any, formal education, especially females; who have little or no access to health care; and who will likely die young.It was a sobering moment.As it happened, the HVRHS cafeteria was serving Mardi Gras food that day, and teacher Karen Davenport assured the participants they would get their lunches.