Five continents and nearly twenty countries later, Minnesota State University at Mankato proved to be a whirlwind of diverse perspectives, rich in culture and worldview. With a unique mix of international and native Minnesotan students, MSU offered the HungerU Crew the opportunity to expand our understanding of hunger and food insecurity issues. We were privileged to see the value of food through the eyes of those with firsthand experiences and engage with others who sought solutions to food access in the United States and abroad.
As an East Coast native, I am very familiar with America’s melting pot identity, a daunting reality when faced with the sensory overload of New York City’s busy streets and the plethora of half-heard conversations in apparent Babel-like style. Therefore, my regional ownership of the iconic Ellis Island immigrant dream had not prepared me for Minnesota’s eclectic array of ethnicities. Amidst conversation about volunteer work in soup kitchens and food pantries, I was surprised to learn about the Phillips neighborhood. Located within the greater Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, Phillips is home to over 100 spoken languages. With a constant influx of global immigrants, issues of food and hunger are prevalent among Phillips’ 20,000 residents.
The diversity of Phillips is comparatively representative of the abundant international community at Minnesota State. During our time at Mankato, countless individuals shared stories of national turmoil and the subsequent struggle for nutritious food access. Amidst corruption and civil war, basic necessities become unattainable goals. Agricultural yields remain hostage to combatting regimes, battling for power as people starve. I often posed questions about the transition to the Midwest and enrollment at an American university. I was almost always met with a sense of relief and overall gratitude for educational opportunity, yet this newfound security did not encourage complacency. With eyewitness knowledge of the global hardship created by hunger, present contentment for these individuals fostered determination and an even greater awareness of the need for an end to global food insecurity.
Although my ever growing knowledge of the intricacies of the global food crisis has informed my opinion of potential solutions or next steps, I am continuously impressed by the proposed innovation and reform that can only result from personal experience. I spoke with a young man from India that self-identified as a product of two generations of farming. He expressed concern for what he described as the lack of self-sufficiency in his home country. While he explained his family’s situation as self-sustaining with the exception of the occasional salt purchase from the local market, many others are unable to produce food or secure alternative food sources. He continued to highlight key problems, citing inefficient crop storage facilities and practices. Based on direct observations, he described piles of crops left to waste as exposure to wind and rain warranted this once viable food unusable.
We exchanged a mutually disappointed glance in recognition of this regrettable situation. As the conversation trailed, my new acquaintance concluded his account with concern. Not simply concern for his people or what can be done, but concern that others do not care. Who will be the voice for the 795 million, the powerless and food insecure?
