The World Hunger Banquet was not what many participants were expecting, as half of them had to eat on the floor of the Bowling Green Parks & Recreation Community Room.

Wednesday’s lunchtime event, which was part of Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, dramatized the unequal distribution of food in the world. It was a partnership between Western Kentucky University’s ALIVE Center and the Institute for Citizenship and Social Responsibility.

“While most of these people will just go eat after this, for this moment, they’ll see what it’s like to be hungry,” said Aurelia Spaulding, communications and marketing coordinator for the ALIVE Center.

People waste so much food each day without thinking about it, and Spaulding said she hopes this will help them think before throwing away food from now on.

The banquet was based on an Oxfam activity, which divides people into groups based on the world’s wealth distribution, dictating how much food they get during the event.

“In a very small way, it puts you in the shoes of people around the globe and lets you see how privileged you are,” said Terry Shoemaker, the ICSR program coordinator who led the activity.

Two of the 12 participants represented the 15 percent of the world that makes $12,000 or more a year, Shoemaker said. They sat at a table and ate a meal catered by Mariah’s using real plates and silverware.

Four people represented the 35 percent of the world that makes between $1,000 and $11,999 per year, Shoemaker said. They ate rice and beans off a paper plate with a plastic fork.

The other six participants represented the half of the world that lives on less than $1,000 a year, or no more than $2.70 a day, Shoemaker said. They sat on the floor and ate rice from a paper bowl with no utensils.

Tanisha Morrow was in the group sitting on the floor.

“It makes you feel guilty for some of the stuff you buy every day,” she said.

Luis Ore, who was also sitting on the floor, said he wasn’t sure what to expect when he signed up for the event. “Because it’s called a banquet, there were expectations, but this could be a banquet for some people,” he said.

He said he’d like to see more people in the community participate in an activity like this.

Marilyn Mitchell, who was in the middle group, said the experience was eye-opening.

“The numbers are just astounding to hear,” she said. “Those numbers just make us realize how blessed we are.”

Linda McCray said she didn’t feel that guilty about being at the table that got a full meal because she knew the other participants would be able to eat later.

What’s harder for her to think about is the fact that so many people in the world really don’t have enough to eat each day, she said.

“I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around the disparity,” McCray said.