Banquet offers meal, education

For $20, you could get two Mother Bear’s pizzas, one dinner at Malibu Grill or a soup-kitchen dinner.\nThe Shalom Community Center will hold its fourth annual hunger banquet at 6:30 p.m. today, which will provide three different tickets assigned randomly to each patron who attends the banquet. One will represent upper class, one middle class and one poverty-level. \n“Some will have a fancy banquet, some will have a common middle class meal and others will have the literal soup-kitchen meal,” said Mary Andrus-Overley, the center’s director of programs.\nHeld in the Great Hall of the First United Methodist Church, 219 E. Fourth St., the dinner serves as “public awareness event” and a fundraiser for the day-shelter, said Shalom Community Center executive director Joel Rekas.\n“It is both a meal and an educational experience around hunger globally and locally,” said Mary Andrus-Overley, the center’s director of programs.\nAndrus-Overley said all proceeds will go toward its general operations budget.\nRekas said last year the event raised more than $4,000 for Shalom to keep providing services to their guests.\nRekas said hunger is one of the largest manifestations of poverty and it is a need Shalom tries to meet within the community. Last year, the center served more than 60,000 meals to 1,413 different guests. \nIn the past, Andrus-Overley said the hunger banquet proved to be “an eye-opener for some and an opportunity to support (Shalom Center’s) efforts for many.”\nShe said last year there was one person who didn’t understand the ideas behind the dinner and stormed out because he wasn’t getting a “real” banquet meal.\nBut Rekas said that was the central message of the banquet.\n“We need to continue to reinforce the point that people are hungry in Monroe County,” Rekas said.\nAfter the meal, there will be an informative presentation and then some guests of Shalom, “who are artists, musicians and poets” will provide entertainment, Andrus-Overley said.\nTickets are available at the Shalom Community Center administrative offices and also at the door.