“In our world of 7 billion, 1+ billion suffer from hunger, while 2 billion suffer from obesity and other health issues,” Noah Riffee, program assistant and student on campus.
Onigiri is a popular Japanese food consisting of a compressed rice ball with seasoning wrapped in nori. Onigiri Action is an international event led by a meal sharing program,Table for Two. It promotes food security, providing around 1 million meals globally to food insecure children and families in need, with a focus on East Africa and North America worldwide.
The event on campus involved the individuals participating in the step-by-step process on how to make an Onigiri. People came together and made them, some familiar and some for the first time. While they were being made, people mingled and talked about what brought them to the event and their connections to Japan. Most people came out of sparked interests and the opportunity to learn a little about Japanese culture and got to make something to also eat at the end.
Riffee demonstrated in his presentation the importance of participating.
“This event is to showcase the Japanese tradition of making onigiri for loved ones and show the importance of children in need around the world,” said Riffee.
Along with the event taking place in a hands-on activity of making the traditional Onigiri, it also is a media based promotion. Onigiri Action campaign donates 5 school meals for every post with the hashtag “#OnigiriAction. They reached 280+ photos last year and are hoping to estimate around a 30% increase this year.
Yuki Ayukawa, the Japan outreach international coordinator, hosted this event on Nov.15, 2023, to promote Onigiri Action and international outreach.
“I am here on campus to promote Japanese culture in Wyoming and the action campaign was brought to my attention and I decided I wanted to help children in need and start the outreach here at the University.”
This campaign action begins every fall with the goal to promote international hunger, provide meals, and bring people of all different backgrounds together to create Japanese food and support the foundation.
