Last spring when Niyati Parekh, an assistant professor in Steinhardt's program in public health, and Christina Marin, an assistant professor in educational theatre, were having lunch, they began to wonder what it would be like for students studying world hunger to experience it firsthand rather than reading about it.

Marin explained to Parekh that in educational theatre courses the students often take 'experiential journeys' where they step into roles and explore another set of experiences. Parekh wondered if the 'role play' approach could work in her Introduction to Public Health Nutrition class, and the two came up with an exercise that combined in-class fasting with a discussion on international nutrition and public policy.

Parekh's students were divided into groups. There were students who fasted overnight and arrived in the classroom hungry and those that came to class fed and ready to participate in a surprise activity. All students were assigned roles as conference attendees, and were provided with information about major nutrition issues facing their country as well as background information about the country's culture, language, religion, and gross domestic product. In addition, students played the role of leaders and representatives from developing, as well as affluent nations, who had come together to discuss policies and strategies to combat hunger.

To further simulate the experience of hunger, fasters found a buffet of food in their classroom with prices that far exceeded the allowance of paper money they received when they arrived. They had enough money to buy a small portion of rice, but they did have unlimited supply of free brown water to drink.

World leaders debated the most effective policies for eradicating hunger.

"Each country came up with strategies and there were arguments and fights," Parekh said. "There were some furious discussions that lasted until we ended the session."

After the exercise the students reflected on what they had learned, and both Parekh and Marin saw a deepened understanding of hunger and poverty, as well as heightened empathy for those who live in developing nations.

Students who fasted understood on a visceral level what it means to be hungry. Students also saw how challenging it could be to engage in a productive discourse about solving world hunger when there are political, cultural, economic, and language barriers to consider.

“Through the exercise, we absolutely took the students out of their learning comfort zone. I believe this made for a very powerful experience," Marin said.

Photos: Students experienced hunger first hand in Steinhardt Assistant Professor Niyati Parekh's class when they had a limited supply of paper money to pay for food.

(Pictured left to right) Christina Marin and Niyati Parekh.