Hunger Week Includes Potato Drop of 40,000 Potatoes at Dinkins

Quick Facts

Some of the events are bound to draw some attention, particularly the bagging of some 40,000 pounds of potatoes on the Dinkins Lawn.

Winthrop has sponsored several hunger projects in the fall but hasn't offered a spring event to bring attention to poverty and hunger.

/uploadedImages/news/Articles/Foster,-Laura.jpg

Laura Foster

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Hunger isn’t an occasional focus for those who don’t have enough to eat.

Winthrop offered several hunger projects in the fall, such as the York County CROP Walk, the successful “Canstruction” event and National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week.

“We’ve never had one big push for hunger awareness in the spring,” said Narcie Jeter, head of the Wesley Foundation and part of the Winthrop Cooperative Campus Ministries. “Instead of just focusing on hunger at one point during the year, we would like to make it a year round focus for students.”

Winthrop’s Center for Career and Civic Engagement and its Cooperative Campus Ministries will come together April 12-15 to address local and world hunger during Hunger Week 2010 “Facing the Realities of Hunger: Embracing Our Role in the Fight.”

“This is a collaborative effort for each of us to play a part in eradicating poverty whether it be through education, donations, awareness or hands on service,” said Laura Foster, Winthrop's program director for volunteer and community services.

Some of the events are bound to draw some attention, particularly the bagging of some 40,000 pounds of potatoes on the Dinkins Lawn. The events are:

• April 12, 8 p.m. Tillman Auditorium - Bananas! movie screening will be a passionate look at some of the global politics and accountability that come with access to food. The idea came from the passion of student Ashlee Warren, who visited Nicaragua and heard the stories of the banana workers firsthand. She has researched the case and has been an advocate for change.

• April 13, 11 a.m. Dinkins Student Center lawn – The Potato Drop, will focus on hunger in a local and community level. The Society of St. Andrew will help obtain the potatoes to help students become more aware of waste, the environment and dwindling resources. About 40,000 pounds of potatoes will be bagged, and distributed to Clover, Lancaster, Chester and York County. There will also be more than 20 agencies on hand at the “Potato Drop” to educate students about the daily needs they address.

• April 14, 7 p.m. Tillman Auditorium - Gregory Sims, the Southeastern Field Representative for Bread for the World, will focus on national legislation that can combat poverty and can help those that are hungry. Sims will share his experiences and the work of Bread for the World, which advocates for hungry people in communities, nation and world both on a grassroots level and in national policy.

• April 15, 7 p.m. McBryde Hall – The Hunger Banquet will focus on hunger as a global issue. Participants will be divided into three groups depending on global percentages of hunger and plenty, and each group will get to experience a different atmosphere and different amount of food to eat. The event will provide the dinner experience and small group reflections on the experience as well as speaker Mary Catherine Hinds, Associate Regional Director for Church World Service/CROP. The Hunger Banquet is $10 for faculty/staff/adults and $5 for students/youth/children. All proceeds will go to Earthquake Relief in Haiti.

Each event is open to the public. For more information, contact Foster at 803/323-2520 or e-mail her at fosterl@winthrop.edu.

[Back to Previous Page]