This dinner banquet was not fair or elegant for many of the 80 guests. Half of those attending had to sit on the floor and eat a small portion of rice with their hands, while others were served a three-course meal.

But unfairness was the point at Tuesday night’s third annual “Hunger Banquet” at Kansas University’s Kansas Union.

The event, sponsored by Oxfam KU and Student Union Activities, was designed to provide participants with an opportunity to see up-close the reality of the global situation of the “haves” and the “have-nots.”

Upon arrival, participants were given a card designating which income class they were for the meal: low, middle, or high.

“(The purpose) was to get people to put a human face on hunger and poverty,” said event coordinator and KU senior Anna Hoard, adding that this year’s theme was the disproportionate effect of climate change on the world’s poor.

The income classes were divided by World Bank percentage estimates of the worldwide population that fit into each category. The meal and service provided represented of each participant’s income class.

The 15 percent of participants in the high-income group represented those earning more than $10,000 annually, the 35 percent in the middle-income represented those making between $900 and $10,000 per year, while the 50 percent in the low-income group represent those who earn less than $3 per day.

As the participants in the high-income level began eating their large meals of pasta and salad, they couldn’t help but share with the 50 percent eating rice on the floor.

For Jess Wothke, it started with lending a spoon to fellow KU Social Welfare major Kelsey Stappert, who was in the low-income group.

“Of course it stinks being at the bottom,” Stappert said, “seeing what you can’t have.”

“I felt so guilty,” said Wothke, of being in the high-income group. She eventually ended up sharing her salad, something that became common among the participants as the three groups began mingling.

“You really see how much you take for granted,” Wothke said.

The organizers didn’t impose any rules about sharing the meals, and there did seem to be plenty of food. Not being able to access it, however, brought home another important point of the event.

“Hunger and poverty are not about food,” Hoard said. “Hunger is about power and people’s access to food.”