During the Week of November 4th-8th the Colgate Hunger Outreach Program, Habitat for Humanity, and Oxfam sponsored Hunger and Homelessness week to raise about the issues that affect members of our community that live locally as well as globally. Topics discussed in events included the effects of genetically modified organisms on food scarcity, experiences with global hunger, and local food scarcity in Madison County. Habitat for Humanity also sponsored a home build so students could do direct service related to homelessness.
The issues that were discussed are very relevant to Colgate students because we live in the 2nd poorest county in New York state. Many of us are disconnected from the least well off members of this county as we live in a small bubble of affluence. Those that volunteer at the Food Cupboard and soup kitchens in the area get a small taste of the effects of hunger, however, the average Colgate student, no matter what they are involved in, cannot fully understand what it is like to not know where your next meal is coming from.
The best we can do is understand the systems in place that facilitate hunger. One of the most important contributors, that should be mentioned, is the agricultural subsidies that the U.S. government provides to large scale producers of products such as corn, soy, and cotton. Overall this creates a market where processed food is cheaper to purchase than fresh fruits and vegetables which contributes to malnutrition, obesity, and hunger. It is also important to note that our government spends less than $1 on school lunches for children. Changing where we allocate our government funding will not end world hunger but it will surely be step in the right direction towards making it less of a problem.
-Elisabeth Muehlemann ’14