Sept. 18, 2008 – Hunger affects one out of every four children in Utah. Globally, some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from it each year.

To combat these statistics, the Lowell Bennion Community Service Center at the University of Utah will host the eighth annual Oxfam Hunger Banquet to raise awareness about local and global hunger issues. This year’s banquet, themed “Riot to End World Hunger,” will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m. in the Olpin Union Saltair Room. Admission to the banquet is $5 or five items of non-perishable food. Tickets will be available at the door. All proceeds from the banquet will be donated to the Utah Food Bank and Oxfam America, a nationwide hunger relief program.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker will be the featured speaker at this year’s banquet. “I am looking forward to participating in this year’s hunger banquet,” he says. “As we become more aware of hunger and poverty, we are motivated to find solutions to the economic and food security challenges communities face.”

Becker will speak about the role each of us play in a community; how the decisions we make impact not only our local community, but also our global community.

Utah Food Bank Director Jim Pugh, will also speak.

“Hunger and poverty are important issues in our community and in the world,” notes Hunger Banquet Committee Chair, Sherry Li. “By effecting change locally, volunteers gain the skills to reach out globally as world citizens and help those in need.”

Guided by the Bennion Center’s goal of empowering students to take action in their respective communities by engaging them in active dialogue and discussion, this year’s banquet will focus on solutions to hunger and poverty.

This year, the Bennion Center is collaborating with the U’s Alumni Association and the ASUU senior class to include the banquet as part of Homecoming Week, which begins Sept. 20 and runs through Sept. 27.

For more information, contact Sherry Li at sherryyli@yahoo.com.