Students will package 20,000 meals Saturday evening as part of the SU Hunger Games.
SU’s 24-Hour Famine, the SU Hunger Games, will be held at Hendricks Chapel on Saturday, Nov. 9, and Sunday, Nov. 10. Students and other members of the SU community are invited to participate in a 24-hour fast and other related activities, sponsored by Hendricks Chapel’s interfaith community, to raise personal and communal awareness around hunger issues and to help raise funds for hungry people in the Syracuse community.
The 24-Hour Famine-SU Hunger Games is part of Hendricks Chapel’s 2013 hunger initiative, and is presented by the STEP Center of Lutheran Campus Ministry in partnership with Grace Episcopal Church and other co-sponsors and is funded in part through a SU co-curricular development grant. Registration, donation opportunities and more information on the event can be found at Bit.ly/SUHungerGames and on Twitter at #SUHungerGames.
“It’s exciting to see the response of students from across campus, engaging the problem of hunger with creativity and energy in an effort to make a difference,” says the Rev. Gail Riina, Lutheran Campus Ministry chaplain. “The 24-Hour Famine presents a personal spiritual challenge to increase empathy through a limited fast and a communal spiritual challenge to come together to address the complex issue of hunger in a world of plenty.”
The 24-hour fast will take place from noon on Saturday until noon on Sunday. Students can participate in some or all of the events. Along with the Hunger Games theme, three of the events are identified as SU Hunger Games challenges:
SU Hunger Game #1—Shark and Cup Quarter Challenge. Individuals are encouraged to try and get their quarters past the hungry shark and into the cup. Even if you lose, you win, because each quarter feeds a family of four. The Shark and Cup challenge can be found in the following locations, among others: Alibrandi Catholic Center; Office of the CIO, Crouse-Hinds Hall; the LGBT Resource Center; The Daily Orange; Hendricks Chapel Dean’s Office; the Noble Room in Hendricks Chapel; the ITS Help Desk in the Life Sciences Building; Disability Cultural Center; Student Activities Office in the Schine Student Center; Office of Residence Life at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Funk n’ Waffles; Grace Episcopal Church; Hillel; the Office of Off-Campus and Commuter Services; Manley Field House; Syracuse Stage; the LGBT Center the Slutzker Center for International Services and the SU Bookstore. This game ends when the fast begins at noon on Saturday.
SU Hunger Game #2—A competition between student organizations for the greatest number of fasters.
SU Hunger Game #3—20,000 Meal Packaging Challenge. Participants will assemble packages of nutritive beans and rice that will be distributed to local food pantries. The supplies and assembly line system are sponsored by Kids Care (http://endhungerne.org), and the SU event will contribute toward the organization’s goal of packaging 1 million meals by the end of 2013.
All Saturday-Sunday events will take place in the Hendricks Chapel Noble Room unless otherwise noted. The schedule is as follows:
Saturday, Nov. 9
11 a.m.—Welcome lunch and orientation.
Noon—24-hour fast begins.
Noon-4 p.m.—Hands on Service—Participants are invited to help collect non-perishable foods at local supermarkets for local food pantries or volunteer at the food pantries to stock shelves and organize supplies. Transportation will be provided to/from campus and the service locations.
4:30 p.m.—Hunger Stories—Student participants will talk about hunger issues they have witnessed and discuss possible solutions.
6:30 p.m.—Discussion on “Beyond Taste and Nutrition: How Do Our Food Choices Help (and Hurt) Others?” with Joe Murray, an attorney, rabbi and chaplain.
8-10 p.m.—SU Hunger Game #3—20,000 Meal Packaging Event.
10:30 p.m.—Discussion on “Hunger Games in America” with Doug Anderson, who recently retired as regional director of Church World Service/CROP.
11:30 p.m.—Reflection and prayer.
Sunday, Nov. 10
Midnight-8 a.m.—Lock-In for fasters, featuring games and entertainment. Participants should bring their own sleeping bags.
8 a.m.—Advocacy Service Project, writing letters to government representatives on food issues.
9 a.m.—Deliver food packages to food pantries in the Syracuse community.
Noon—Agape meal to break the fast.
The planning partners for the 24-Hour Famine-SU Hunger Games are Baptist Campus Ministry, Interfaith Student Alliance, ITS’ Learning Environments and Media Production; Hendricks Chapel’s Office of Engagement Programs; the students and faculty of IST 466; SU Athletics and United Methodist Ecumenical Campus Ministry.
Service partners include Alpha Phi Omega, Price Chopper and Wegmans.
