When Derek Felton, director of a local food cupboard and food program, speaks about extreme hunger and poverty, he is speaking from experience.
Felton was a guest speaker at the Student Coalition Against Hunger's general body meeting on Tuesday.
His personal experience growing up in poverty showed audience members how hunger caused him to resort to stealing in order to survive, eventually landing him in prison.
"I can't remember a day I went to school when I had had something to eat," Felton said. "I could never concentrate in class because I was always hungry."
As a result of his lack of concentration in school, Felton was long unable to read or write well.
Luckily, he says, he was able to overcome his obstacles and has been giving to the community for the past 11 years, feeding those in need.
He now works for the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, and he urged Penn students to get involved in the fight against malnutrition.
"Being in poverty actively changes how you behave," Felton said, adding that many impoverished people have to resort to crime in order to feed their families.
"It doesn't justify the behavior, but it does" affect it, Felton said.
This firsthand account of hunger has motivated some students to get involved with the SCAH.
This student-activism committee works closely with the GPCAH to raise awareness about the issue. SCAH also takes part in community outreach, attempting to make government-issued food stamps more available, and trains members of the group to screen people for food-stamp eligibility.
College senior Yael May serves as the director and president of SCAH. She started the group with the help of Political Science professor Mary Summers after taking Summers' class during her freshman year and learning more about poverty, hunger and the food-stamp program.
"It is shocking and horrible that so many people in this country need food stamps and soup kitchens," Summers said after Felton's speech."The food-stamp program is a tiny remnant of [what] we have to fight hunger in this country."
In addition to encouraging student involvement in the food-stamp campaign, Felton also urged students to help raise political awareness. He said that the government needs to stop "sweeping the issue under the rug" and start talking openly about hunger.
Felton added that those who take an active role in fighting hunger through volunteering can serve as role models for those who depend on food stamps and soup kitchens.
Considering how so many people in poverty do not know how to escape the lifestyle, "I am fortunate," Felton said. "I see myself as a miracle."
