BYU's immersive Hunger Banquet highlights global food insecurity

An attendee eats a meal at the “elite” table during the BYU Hunger Banquet, where participants received fully plated courses. The elite class represented just 1% of those in attendance, reflecting global wealth distribution. (Frizz Flake)

Brigham Young University hosted its 35th annual Hunger Banquet on Saturday, Feb. 21, to help students and community members learn more about global food insecurity and how to get involved.

A father explains an informational sign about food insecurity to his children. Educational displays throughout the event encouraged attendees to learn how they could make a difference. (Frizz Flake)

The Hunger Banquet has served as the culminating event of BYU’s Care Week for more than three decades, challenging attendees to confront global inequality and food insecurity by randomly assigning participants to social classes and serving meals that reflect each income level.

“I hope that we shift a few paradigms on what hunger looks like, and what it looks like to tackle a problem like this,” said Logan Stats, an officer of the Students for International Development club that organized the banquet.

From senior citizens accompanying grandchildren to young families and groups of BYU students, this year’s banquet drew a diverse crowd.

Assigned social classes reflected actual global income disparities: 50% lower class, 30% middle class, 20% upper class and 1% elite.

An attendee assigned to the middle class serves tortillas, rice, beans and chicken. Middle-class participants received buffet-style meals reflecting global income levels. (Frizz Flake)

“I think sometimes we feel really far away from these problems,” Kassia Khountham, a banquet attendee, said. “Tonight I realized that the reality is right here, and there are people experiencing food insecurity in our own states and cities and even here at BYU.”

Regardless of their assigned social class, each group received the budget of a low-income family and was tasked with planning a week’s worth of meals.

The exercise was designed to illustrate the emotional strain and complex decisions that come with limited food and resources.

When asked about the banquet’s impact, Students for International Development co-president Isabel Emery said she hopes participants walk away with a renewed sense of empathy for those facing food insecurity.

“I think empathy for others is a really good starting place, because then you have the desire to help someone else because you feel something for them,” Emery said. “From there, you’re able to start figuring out solutions together.”

Proceeds from the banquet were donated to New Roots SLC, a local nonprofit associated with the International Rescue Committee.

New Roots works to empower refugees by helping them develop small-scale urban farms and community gardens in Salt Lake City.

Participants assigned to the lower and middle classes sit on the floor and eat a simple meal. Those assigned to these income groups experienced limited seating and modest portions, reflecting the realities of many global middle-income households. (Frizz Flake)

“We see our refugees as assets to the community,” said Selam Dickerson, the New Roots keynote speaker. “Not only are they growing food to sustain themselves, but they’re also growing food to sustain their community.”

Together, the evening’s messages balanced hope with realism. Dickerson pointed to the ways refugee families enrich and sustain communities, while organizers shifted the focus toward the collective effort required to address food insecurity on a broader scale.

“This is a complicated problem that no one person can fix,” Stats said. “If people can come away understanding even the small things they can do to help, that’s how we move mountains.”