A Place At The Table Review - Finally A Wake Up Call

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Category: Film

Published on Sunday, 19 May 2013 15:47

Written by Janet Walker

“A Place At The Table,” from Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media, presents a shocking wake up call into the alarming statistics of Hunger in America through the eyes of those who understand it most.

Directed by Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush “A Place At The Table” examines the key factors contributing to the hunger crisis in America, illustrating how our nation’s food distribution system, social support programs and even well-meaning charitable organizations allow the cycle to continue.

“A Place At The Table” is a spectacularly cinematic film and a timely awakening. Despite having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all Americans, the United States Government allows nearly 30% of families, more than 49 million people – and one in four children – to be food insecure, which means they don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

If these statistics are shocking, it’s because the stigma of hunger in our society has kept it hidden. Your neighbors, friends, co-workers could be food insecure and you would never know because people are too ashamed to talk about it.

Hunger isn’t just a problem for starving children in a distant third world country. It’s a very real issue for many people right here in the United States, the wealthiest nation in the world. “A Place At The Table” follows a cast of characters and illustrates their everyday struggle to find healthy, affordable food for their families.

Interwoven throughout each of these stories are insights from experts including Tom Colicchio (who also serves as the film’s Executive Producer), Oscar winner and a passionate advocate Jeff Bridges, economist/author Raj Patel, as well as ordinary citizens and activists who are working to improve the lives of others.

Three families are profiled as well as the support systems that assist them in the everyday struggle. A single mother, with two young children, speaks candidly regarding her situation, on public assistance and receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, the woman explains how it barely stretches to the end of the month.

A fifth grader in Colorado, takes the camera crew through her single family home, that houses two families, as she and her parents have moved back into her grandmother’s home. She struggles at school, unable to concentrate due to lack of food.

Also profiled is a second grader in Mississippi, in a town steeped in culture, where fried food is the accepted normal, and the empty calories found in fast snacks are easier and more convenient as there are few grocery stores close.

“A Place At The Table” also profiles the helpers. Those who have seen the need and responded offering what they can. Food Banks are sprouting up everywhere and without them many of the 40million with food insecurities would not have a next meal.

“A Place At The Table” does more than simply document the depth of hunger insecurity and poverty in America.  “A Place At The Table” explains the food chain from soil to subsidy to shelves and takes the viewer on a food journey, defusing the harsh realities of the truth, with animated footage.  

“A Place At The Table” indicates a growing need for a neighbor assisting neighbors through food banks and other outreaches. In 1980, there were 200 food banks in the United States. In 2013, there are over 40,000 food banks, soup kitchens and pantries.

Food shortages are not new in America. The challenges some 50 million Americans face has been met and overcome before. The current economic and employment issues are all factors in this equation deepening the divide are domestic program cuts including a proposed $20 billion cut over the next ten years crippling those with the least chance to fight.                                                                                                                                                  

“A Place At The Table” has a running time of 84 minutes and opened nationwide March 1, 2013. It is available on VOD and will soon be released on DVD.

For more info:Official website: http://www.Takepart.com/table

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aPlaceAtTheTableMovie