Fast aims to generate awareness, promote change

Sarah Brown Life Editor

Next Monday, Nov. 21, Hunger Action, in conjunction with the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and Dutchess Outreach, Inc., will be sponsoring their annual Hunger Awareness Fast activities. This event represents the culmination of Hunger Awareness month, four weeks of events in November aimed to generate more consciousness about issues of hunger in the Vassar and surrounding community.

According to Hunger Action contact Rebecca Weinberg ’06, the event coincides with the observance of the Hunger Action Network of New York State (HANNYS) annual Thanksgiving Fast Against Hunger, and will encourage Vassar students and Poughkeepsie community members to give up eating for the day or part of the day and to give the money they have saved to Dutchess Outreach, Inc., a local organization combating hunger.

Fasters will be asked not only to abstain from eating during the day, but also to gather for conversation and to reflect on issues of hunger throughout the day. Starting at 10 a.m., all fasters will gather to discuss their intentions for fasting at the Rose Parlor on the second floor of Main.

The Rose Parlor will remain open all day as a gathering space and resource for fasters and non-fasting supporters, and will include quiet space, art and literature. Other events during the day include a mid-morning harvest at the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, followed by a trip to deliver the harvest to the Lunchbox, Dutchess Outreach, Inc.’s local soup kitchen, at noon. The fast will end at 5 p.m. with a community break-fast.

The event will occur around Ramadan and Yom Kippur, both religious traditions tied to fasting, yet it is also close to Thanksgiving, a holiday that is observed by nearly everyone in the Vassar community. According to Weinberg, the fast represents something different for each participant.

“I believe that hunger and poverty in our land of plenty is a crime,” said Weinberg. “It is our responsibility to acknowledge that as citizens we’re part of the system in order to promote awareness and the potential for institutional change.”

After the fast, students will have the opportunity to partake in future Hunger Action events in the upcoming weeks. These include Bright Nights on Nov. 19, a program that involves collecting and distributing food, clothing and hygienic items to homeless people in Poughkeepsie. There will also be a community dinner from 6:30-7:30 p.m. On Wednesday, Nov. 30 at the Lunchbox, whichwill be open to homeless people as well as members of the Vassar community. Interested students can also get more involved by attending Hunger Action meetings Mondays at 9:30 p.m. in the Jade Parlor.