A Place at the Table - 4 smiles

“A Place at the Table,” a documentary about hunger in America, is a must see for everyone. This nation has enough food for all of its people, yet 50 million of them are hungry. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush use lots of facts, graphics and expert testimony, but what makes this movie so compelling is its focus on a handful of victims, who make the statistics painfully real. There’s Rosie, a small-town Colorado girl who has trouble concentrating in her fifth grade class because she’s hungry. And Barbie, a North Philadelphia mother of two, who is dismayed to learn that when she finally gets a low paying job, she is disqualified for today’s equivalent of food stamps (called SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). By the late 1970s, with the introduction of food stamps and the school lunch program, hunger in America, more or less, had been addressed. Then came the 80s and hunger returned with a vengeance. The culprits: tax cuts, the rise of corporate welfare for agribusiness, the decline in social programs and the rampant belief that the hungry did this to themselves and that churches and charities could take care of the needy.

Actor Jeff Bridges, who is interviewed extensively in the film, says, ‘We don’t fund our Department of Defense through charity.’ His meaning is quite clear. Bridges has been active since the early 80s and is the national chairman of the Share our Strength/No Kid Hungry campaign. The film’s other experts include celebrity chef Tom Colicchio, seen testifying before Congress; author and activist Raj Patel; nutrition writer Marion Nestle; sociologist Janet Poppendieck, author of Free for All: Fixing School Food in America. We also hear from individuals who are making heroic efforts to address hunger in their neighborhoods. The directors look at how important reforms are hampered by Washington politics and how our agricultural subsidy system results in cheap junk food, which means poor people can be both ‘food insecure’ and obese. One in three children born in America in the year 2000 will develop Type 2 diabetes, a staggering statistic. This moving documentary, “A Place at the Table,” will haunt you long after you leave the theater. Go to www.endhunger.com to learn more. 3/10/13