Every year many Padua students participate in the annual fast known as Famine.  This 24-hour fast is a faith-changing experience that made the girls understand how much we, as a society, take for granted.

Throughout the evening, the girls participated in activities focused on food and food waste throughout the country led by some of the sophomores, juniors, and seniors.  The evening started with an ice breaker game of “Would You Rather”.  After everything was warmed up a bit, the girls participated in an opening prayer service.  The service was a reflection of readings and song meditation.  The girls were then split into groups for a group discussion about why they chose to participate in Famine.  Many of the girls said they had heard about Famine through their friends but did not realize how much fun it was until they were a part of it.  The girls, also, played many games.

The big event of the night was watching a movie, called Dive.  This movie was about a man and his friends who dumpster dive.  They go to local grocery stores and rummage the trash for food that is still fresh and has been thrown out early.  It was sad to see all of the perfectly good food that would have been wasted.  The men found bags of food such as bread, fruit, chicken, and much more that could be enough to feed many poor families.  The Padua girls performed an experiment to see how much food was wasted in the Padua Cafeteria in just one day.  The girls found about five sandwiches, a cheese stick, a bag of peanuts, multiple bags of other various snacks, different drinks such as milk cartons, and lots more in just a few bags of trash.

Not many people realize how essential food is in our lives.  Even though hunger is thought of as the main side effect of lack of food, other side effects include tiredness, lack of concentration, weakness, and a low immune system.  This just shows that those who do not get a lot to eat suffer from other illnesses.  This is why the leftover food from grocery stores should go to dining halls and soup kitchens to feed those who are in need.  A great number of stomachs could be filled and less people would be hungry.

In the morning, the event closed with a morning prayer service and each of the girls received a necklace to remind them to take what they learned and help make the world a better place.