Hunger U Bus aims to eradicate local hunger

Hunger U will have a 50-foot bus come to Marshall University’s campus Oct. 31 through Nov. 1 to promote the eradication of hunger in the community of Huntington.

The project is sponsored by the Marshall University Department of Dietetics and other campus departments.

Hunger U’s mission is to show that every student at a college campus has the potential to be a part of the global hunger solution.

The exhibit uses dynamic conversational and interactive tools to help spark conversation and teach students about food insecurity around the world and in their own communities. For a more peer to peer experience, instead of a lecture or traditional teaching experience, all of the staff of the Hunger U exhibit are recent graduates or young professionals themselves.

When a student takes part in the Hunger U challenge, a meal will be donated in that student’s name to a family who is struggling with hunger issues. Students are also able to contact their local policy makers to have their voice heard that they care about hunger related issues in their community.

“By visiting the exhibit, the Marshall community can learn more about the issues related to hunger both locally and globally and how they can be part of the solution,” Kelli Williams, Ph.D. and department chair and associate professor of dietetics at Marshall University, said. “So many people deal with food insecurity and this exhibit was created to call attention to this problem and work to end it.”

The Hunger U tour is a college-geared project from Farmers Feeding the World, which is an initiative from the nonprofit organization Farm Journal Foundation. Farmers Feeding the World works to bring together farmers and consumers across the United States to feed those in immediate crisis and teach the hungry what they can do to feed themselves.

Noah Gillispie can be contacted at [email protected].