Millions of people around the world are suffering each day from hunger and poverty.

They are constantly encountering a near-death experiences every single day due to lack supply of food, water, sanitation, healthcare and much more. In fact, according to World Food Program, 815 million people – one in nine – still go to bed on an empty stomach each night.

A recent article regarding ASDVC’s upcoming event, “The Hunger Banquet” inspired by OXFAM that is planning to take place early to the mid-spring semester of 2018, pointed out the importance of raising awareness to Diablo Valley College students about world hunger.

According to OXFAM Hunger Banquet, students who participate will randomly draw a card that will indicate which category of food they will eat.

The head of the Food Pantry Committee, Trey Dao, introduced the event to ASDVC with the aim to “give students a new perspective of living on a low food income.”

However, the possible outcomes of this event might not be as effective due to one concerning issue: college students will participate only for the free food, not for the sake of the cause.

College students like myself, who are not experiencing hunger or financial issues, will take part of this event as it provides free foods and beverages despite what meal is being served.

Who would turn down free food anyways? As beneficial as it sounds, the budget of roughly $5,000 for 300 students is rather a large amount that could be allocated for better use such as the food pantry, which helps students in need directly rather than giving away free food to financially stable students.

It would have much better and significant impact to those who suffer from hunger and financial problems.