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Gluttony for a Cause or Feeding the Food Insecure? Contradictions in Combating Food Insecurity Through Private Philanthropy

Drawing from theorizing about materiality and neoliberal health organizing, this essay reflects on the contradictions and organization of an annual dinner fundraiser for people experiencing food insecurity. This event occurs in the center of a university town where 400 participants eat local, gourmet food at one long table, and raise more than $75,000 for local food banks and food pantries. Through a series of defining moments, I show how both the material and symbolic aspects of the Benefit on Main collide to demonstrate a political struggle over the meaning and perceived purpose of the event.