Pocono News Section

Hunger Exhibit Opens at Marywood University

Hunger Exhibit Opens at Marywood University - Monday, November 16, 2009 at 5:20PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Monday, Nov 16, 2009 @ 05:20pm EST
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY - The issues of hunger and poverty are the focus of a new art exhibit that will travel across the state. The Witnesses to Hunger exhibit opened Monday morning at Marywood University in Scranton.

"We're putting words into a frame so you can see and hear our voices," photographer Angela Sutton said.

Forty women from around the state, armed with digital cameras, documented their lives and their struggles as they battled hunger.

"This is an epidemic. This is going on in your backyard. This could be your neighbor. This could be somebody you see everyday that you never know what they're going through and their struggles," Sutton said.

Jean Culver of Peckville is one of the artists. She has three young children.

"It puts out the word how much we're struggling to raise our children and feed them," Culver said.

Culver talked about each of her pictures and why they are so important. She hopes the exhibit sturs politicians and the public into action.

"There needs to be a lot more funding and a lot more programs to help people like myself get jobs," Culver said.

"We don't want a meal ticket. We want a helping hand. There's a difference. We don't want to just lay there and beg for things. We want to earn it," Sutton said.

Senator Bob Casey helped open the exhibit Monday morning. He says more can be done on a federal level to help with the Child Nutrition Act.

"My father used to always tell us 'You don't need to travel to some big city like New York to see poverty and its affects on families. It's right here in Lackawanna County and we shouldn't lose sight of that. It's in our backyard," Senator Casey said.

The Witnesses to Hunger exhibit is open to the public through the end of the week. It is located in the Architectural Studies Building at Marywood University.