Portola Valley students learn about hunger Portola Valley students learn about hunger (December 10, 2003)

After feasting on Thanksgiving, students at Corte Madera School in Portola Valley learned first hand about hunger and the inequities of food distribution in the world by taking part in the annual Hunger Banquet.

Corte Madera is sponsoring a food drive now through Friday, December 12, to help families in San Mateo County by collecting non-perishable items to donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank.

Items most needed are: powdered milk, peanut butter, tuna, low-sugar cereals, meals in a can such as stew, chili and soups, 100 percent fruit juices in single serving boxes, and canned foods with pop-top lids.

Wendy Whitehouse and Carol Sontag, co-chairs of the food drive and hunger banquet sponsored by the Corte Madera School Site, said the hunger banquet aims to have students experience the unfair and random manner in which food is distributed around the world.

Instead of having a regular lunch December 4, students drew colored strings to determine which of three meals they would receive. About 55 percent of the 380 students ate only rice and water for lunch; 30 percent had rice, beans and water; only 15 percent enjoyed a lunch of grains, proteins, fruit, canned beverages and sweets.

Earlier at an all-school assembly last week, sixth-graders under the leadership of teachers Donna Kasprowicz and John Davenport reported on their research about world hunger. Students also watched video clips that graphically portrayed the issues of food insecurity and homelessness.

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