At the hundreds of Hunger Banquets held by the global organization Oxfam each year, participants might be served rice and water at one table and a gourmet meal at the next. It’s all the luck of the tickets they draw С a concept designed to demonstrate the gap between food choices for the rich, the middle, and the poor.

While the offerings at the Princeton Hunger Banquet on Sunday, September 20 won’t be as extreme, the idea is the same. The fundraiser is being held at Hinds Plaza by Send Hunger Packing Princeton (SHUPP), the two-year-old charity that provides aid to food-insecure families in town. Upon entering, participants will be given tickets directing them to a table serving a meal typical of a low, middle, or high-income family.

“We wanted to do something to bring awareness to the fact that food insecurity exists in Princeton,” said Elisa Neira, the town’s Human Services director. “Families and children are not getting enough nutritious foods, or might not be eating three meals a day, or might be having to cut the size of their meals. And another thing we see is concern about where the next meal is coming from, particularly toward the end of the month when they are waiting for the next paycheck.”

According to research by SHUPP, some 420 Princeton children are food insecure. While the ones who qualify get free or subsidized school lunches during the week, there is no help for them on the weekends. SHUPP partners with Mercer Street Friends to provide backpacks containing food to take home on Fridays for needy children in grades kindergarten through five, and at the Princeton Nursery School.

Ms. Neira and others involved in planning the event were inspired by a Hunger Banquet simulation held recently at the Hun School. “The idea was to teach students about world hunger,” Ms. Neira said. “They took the model from Oxfam and followed it, and we will do the same. We’ll have three different tiers, with meals representing what each group would normally eat.”

So while one table will be set with a tablecloth, silverware, and centerpieces, another will have no tablecloth and paper plates. The menus have yet to be finalized. “We’ve been debating a lot about whether to make a drastic difference in the meals,” Ms. Neira said. “And a lot has to do with the fact that we have vendors who will be providing and giving a feel for the food.”

Students from Hun will act as facilitators at each table. “They have done this before. They know how to start healthy conversations about food insecurity,” Ms. Neira said. “I’ve heard stories from people from Hun, who have told us that it’s usually the middle income table that initiates the giving, which is interesting. Because when you look at the real world, a lot of the volunteering, if not necessarily money, comes from middle income people.”

Ms. Neira hopes that families [with children aged 8 and up] will attend the banquet. “This is a great opportunity for parents to teach their kids about giving back,” she said. “We’ll try to divide families so not all members are at the same table. When they go back home, they can discuss what they have experienced.”

Steve Cochrane, Princeton’s superintendent of schools, is likely to deliver closing remarks at the event. A keynote speaker has yet to be named. The event will be held rain or shine, thanks to tents and tables from the Princeton Public Library’s Children’s Book Festival, which is being held the day before. “They’re leaving everything up, which is so generous of them,” Ms. Neira said of the library. “They have been incredible.”

The Princeton Hunger Banquet will be held Sunday, September 20 from 1 to 3 p.m. Tickets are $50 a person. For more information, to become a sponsor, or purchase tickets, visit shupprinceton.org.

“What we’re hoping for is a day of awareness,” Ms. Neira said. “This is a real issue here in Princeton, and the banquet will help people realize that.”