CHARITY WATCH : Food for Thought

The notion is nothing if not novel and visceral. But it may help others better understand the pervasiveness and dimensions of world hunger.

Tonight in Hollywood 200 movie stars and celebrities will pay $150 each to attend a fancy banquet. And not so fancy. Only a few will get to dine on the gourmet three-course meal. Nearly one-third will have to make do with rice and beans, a standard dinner in many developing countries. And a majority of the guests will sit on the floor and use their hands to eat rice and water, the most common meal in the world.

Who gets to eat what will be decided by drawing straws.

That’s the idea of The Hollywood Hunger Banquet, a celebrity charity event co-chaired by actors Danny Glover and Edward James Olmos and scheduled in West Hollywood and three other cities elsewhere in the nation.

The Oxfam-backed exercise is designed to call attention to how food is distributed today throughout the world--and to raise money for the hungry. While 15% of the world population routinely eat well, according to Oxfam America, 30% eat simply, and the 55% who live in the poorest nations eat whatever they can. World hunger is not limited to starving babies in Ethiopia, a popular misconception. Millions of people--one out of five--are so chronically malnourished they cannot lead productive lives. Thousands of people--the majority of them little girls under 5--die from hunger and related diseases every day.

No doubt the Hollywood dinner is a gimmick. But it got our attention--and now, perhaps yours.