Students at the Matthew J. Kuss Middle School had the opportunity to experience what the world population eats every day, including many families who live below the poverty line in the United States. Typically, the problem of hunger is seen as not having enough total calories. A more complicated aspect of the problem is the increase in obesity among poor children masking the lack of essential nutrients in their diet. Much of the problem of hunger stems from the inequity in income and, ultimately, power among groups of people world-wide. The hunger banquet exercise, held on February 24, 2010, divided participants at random into three groups: 1) The 15 percent in the high-income tier who are served a sumptuous meal, 2) the 35 percent in the middle-income section who eat a simple but nutritious meal, and 3) The 50 percent in the low-income tier who are served only small amounts of bread and water. Furthermore, the exercise allows participants to experience firsthand how both political power and good or bad fortune affect each of these groups. "This is a great way to make an impact about hunger and homelessness in Fall River and empowering the students at Kuss by putting this on for their peers," said LEADS coordinator Jarrad Plante who, along with UMass-Dartmouth students, put the program together with a group of eighth-graders. Click here for the Herald News article about the event. For more information, contact HungerBanquet.com or How to Plan a Hunger Banquet or contact Jarred Plante.

(Top row) Eighth-grade students Michael Chhim, Brianna Raposo and Meredith Forcier practice reading their scripts before about 25 selected 8th-graders, who are taking a Social Injustice unit, arrive. (Top row, center) Dominique Vandal reads her "ticket" assigning her to one of three groups as she enters the room. (Top row, left) Kuss adjustment counselor Lori Jodoin and students Codey Smith and Abraham Sabeh listen as Brianna Raposo reads her description of the challenges that poor people face in getting adequate food and water. (Middle row, left) Corey Doupin, Scotty Cabral and Megan Rockett are assigned to the low-income group and are required to sit on the floor. (Middle row, center) LEADS graduate student volunteer John Patota, LEADS coordinator Jarred Plante, and UMass-Dartmouth Community Service Grant Coordinator Gary Marden pose in front of the Kuss Middle School students with whom they work. (Middle row, right) Monica Parker and other students assigned to the low-income group react as Michael Chhim presents them with their meal. (Bottom row, left) Kuss student Monica Parker explains that the bread is all they will have to eat. (Bottom row, center) One of the students prepares sandwiches and drinks for the students assigned to the middle income group. (Bottom row, right) Students in the high-income group are served lasagna, salad and apple juice as Laurie Robertson-Lorant, Ph.D. of UMass-Dartmouth and Bridgewater State College talks with them.