Auburn students to march for hunger tomorrow

Next week, a group of Auburn students will embark on a 60-mile march from the Auburn University campus to the steps of the State Capitol in Montgomery. These students will have one issue in mind - to raise awareness about the issue of world hunger.

The “Hunger March” was devised by The Committee of 19, the student organization leading the War on Hunger on Auburn’s campus. The committee was formed in 2004 when the UN World Food Programme approached the university about creating a student campaign against hunger. The name for the committee is symbolic for the 19 cents it used to take to feed a child for one day, which is now 25 cents due to inflation and the rising cost of food.
President Emma Keller has served on the committee since her freshman year at Auburn.

“The issue of hunger is something that has weighed heavy on my heart since I was about 15 years old,” Keller said. “I traveled to Haiti, which as you know is the poorest country in the western hemisphere, and it changed my life. After seeing the things that I saw, suffering that no one should have to endure, I knew that I had to do something.”

Keller and former president Haley Walker Killebrew came up with the idea for the “Hunger March” in 2008.

“We were talking over the summer about plans for that fall semester,” Keller said. “She had some friends who had walked home to Birmingham over one break and she thought it would be a great way to raise awareness if we could walk somewhere.”

The capitol in Montgomery was the first location that came to mind.

“It really was a crazy idea, but we thought we would try it out,” Keller said.

The first “Hunger March” was held in October of 2008. Around 60 students joined in on the march.

The marchers set out from the Auburn University Medical Clinic on Friday, Oct. 17, at 10 a.m. and traveled southeast on College Street to U.S. 29, then Ala. 81 North, and 20 miles in Tuskegee. On the second day they walked 30 miles and finished in the Mt. Meigs area. On the third day they walked the final 10 miles to the steps of the capitol where they arrived to rally around noon.

Keller said that it felt amazing to walk for a cause that she truly believed in.

“But what was more amazing was to have close to 60 other students all walking for the same reasons,” Keller said.

Keller added that the walk proved difficult - more difficult than she anticipated.

“It was hard,” she said. “There were many times I wanted to give up, especially after walking in the rain for more than seven hours on the first day. But we all somehow found the strength to make it through.”

Keller added that she was impressed by the passion that exuded from everyone who participated.

“We all helped each other out along the way and made sure everyone made it,” she said.

This year the students will set out for the capitol on Saturday, March 27. This will mark the second “Hunger March.” The first march was held in October, when state legislation was not is session. So, the committee decided to move the march to spring semester, which means there was no 2009 march, but an entire school year has not been skipped.

This year the committee hopes to have around 150 students march, so far 50 have signed up.

Each participant must sign a series of waivers. The committee also recommends training for the event and at least two broken-in pairs of good walking shoes.
“Though walking generally is not very physically demanding it takes incredible physical, mental and emotional strength to endure,” Keller said.

The marchers sleep in churches along the way, which is where they eat breakfast and dinner. They stop along the way for lunch, and some food is donated. Marchers are encouraged to bring their own snacks.

A caravan of vehicles follow the marchers incase a marcher gets too tired to continue and needs to rest for a while.

“We also make regular stops for stretching and sock changing to keep injuries and blisters to a minimum,” Keller said.

Courtni Ward joined the Committee of 19 as the College of Business representative last year during her freshman year at Auburn. One of the first activities she helped plan was the “Hunger March.”

“After the success with last year’s march, I wanted to be involved in the entire process, not just as a participant,” Ward said.

This year Ward is serving as the chair for the “Hunger March” Planning Committee.

Ward has helped plan the new route the marchers will take this year.

“We will actually be travelling a different route this year that is more pedestrian-friendly, with wider shoulders, more places to stop along the way ...” Ward said.

The marchers will head out on March 27 at 8:30 a.m. from Auburn University’s campus. The first day will be a 24.6 mile walk to the Elam Baptist Church. The second day will be a 26.6 mile walk, ending at Lakeview Baptist Church, just outside Montgomery. The final day of the march will be 9.9 miles, ending at the steps of the capitol where they will have a rally on the capitol steps.

“State and local politicians have been invited to join us in this rally by simply being present, or by speaking about hunger and hunger-related issues in Alabama,” Ward said. “We will arrive around 12 p.m. and the rally should last about an hour. After that, it is up to the students to speak with those present, share their experiences, and their visions about ending hunger and hunger-related issues locally.”

After the rally on Sunday, the marchers will ride back to Auburn with rides from volunteers.

Keller and Ward said that in addition to raising funds, they hope to educate people about the issues of hunger and generate the political will it will take to really end this devastating epidemic.

“Every day, men, women and children have to walk long distances to receive even the life’s most basic necessities,” Ward said. “It is clear that acknowledging their plight is not enough to initiate change. In walking 60 miles, we hope to inspire political will on local, national and international hunger issues. Marching to Montgomery will promote awareness of hunger issues and raise funds for the war on hunger initiative.”

For more information, or to join the “Hunger March,” visit auburn.edu/event/hunger. The marchers are mostly students, but anyone is invited to attend.