A Place at the Table makes its point known early. Its story is told through the voices of families struggling with food insecurity all over America, from Philadelphia, to Mississippi, to Colorado. Each story told is vastly different, but in the end the result is the same: hard-working families struggling every day to find a way to make ends meet and put food on their tables.
The Food Bank’s special screening of the film at Amherst Cinema was attended by over 100 individuals. Following the screening a panel discussion led by The Food Bank’s executive director Andrew Morehouse, Rep. James McGovern (D-MA), and Prof. Julie Caswell touched on the array of topics presented in the film.
The issue of hunger is complex and multi-faceted, involving agri-business, farm subsidies, living wages, and food deserts. To fix it, Rep. McGovern said, we will need “political will.” In response to an audience question about the topic of hunger on Capitol Hill, the Congressman said, “you’re never going to meet a member of Congress that’s pro-hunger,” and encouraged folks to call, email, or visit their legislators (and tell their friends and family to do the same) to demand they pay attention to hunger.
The Food Bank encourages you to view the film and submit your reaction and ideas to communications@foodbankwma.org. The film will be playing at Amherst Cinema, and is alternatively available on demand on iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.
You can view pictures from last night’s event here, and listen to clips from the panel discussion below.