Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our spring member drive has ended, but it's not too late to give. You have the power to help fund the essential journalism that keeps us all informed. Help us close the gap on our spring fundraising goal! GIVE NOW

HungerU Reaches Out To Utah Audience

Utah State University students attend HungerU event.
Melissa Allison
Utah State University students attended HungerU event Sept. 4.

A national organization dedicated to educating the public about hunger is putting on its second event in Utah this week before heading north to Idaho.

Utah State University is the current location for HungerU, a mobile exhibit that travels across the United States to college campuses. Their goal is to educate students about the number-one killer in the world, topping HIV/AIDS, malaria and all other diseases combined—hunger.

Some might believe Utah is exempt from the issue, but according to TraceeSchiebel, a HungerU crew member, that is not the case.

“In Utah, one in every six are hungry,” said Schiebel. “So we’re trying to make people aware that hunger is in their own backyard and global.”

HungerU is at USU Thursday and Friday this week.

“We have a HungerU challenge that we’re giving out to students. They can come up to our exhibit, take it on one of our kiosks... After doing so we’ll donate a meal on their behalf to hunger,” said Schiebel.

HungerU is not only teaching Utah communities about how to get involved, but are also working to help all Americans understand hunger on a global scale.

"This morning I talked to a couple gentlemen of gentlemen who went on a mission trip,” said Schiebel.  “One of their quotes was, ‘It's crazy to think that what we put on one plate, they spread out of a family of six.’  So, one meal to us feeds six in a day in other countries.”

USU students Easton Smith and Lindzee Neal were surprised by some of the facts they learned from participating at the HungerU event.

“There are so many people who are farmers that don't have very much land,” said Smith. “If we could help them to utilize that land better or someone could help them do that, it would help them a lot and help the world a lot and it kind of makes it seem like it is doable instead of just like this big impossible problem to solve, that there is something we can do to help people…”

“This experience definitely made me want to help out more,” said Neal. “And try to figure out how to make hunger not so much of an issue.”

Though HungerU does not provide meal services to those that are hungry, it does educate those who are in power.

“We are the educational piece and we are hoping to inspire action and you can't take action without education,” said Schiebel. “So, we’re traveling, hitting college campuses trying to inspire young minds, teach them a little something about agriculture, about hunger and hopefully they can take the message and do something about it.”

According to HungerU, two billion people will be added to the planet’s population between now and 2050, which will create in just 50 years the need for more food than what we have produced in the past 10,000 years combined.