Film Title: A Place at the Table
Primary Aim/Key Messages:
The primary aim of the documentary is to educate viewers on the actual scope of hunger. Hunger can be defined in many different ways, and as Barbie Izquierdo states, “Hunger is right here in the United States. It could be right next door. And you would never know because people are too afraid to talk about it” (8:34). Another primary aim is to show that hunger and obesity are neighbors. People don’t have the accessibility to get the food that they need to stay healthy. The combination of expensive food and low levels of education are leading contributors to obesity. Hunger has a big impact on our future because when children are hungry, they lose their ability to focus, and thus our nation’s potential suffers.
Despite the vast amount of messages regarding hunger, society is still hungrier than ever. There is a strong stigma associated with hunger and welfare participation. The corrupt system often does not supply the appropriate funds to create a nutrient-dense diet. Obesity is a leading factor of many chronic and long-term illnesses.
Worldwide, enough food exists to feed everybody, but we do not possess the ability and resources to distribute this food. Every year, funding is geared towards research opportunities, but we do not apply this knowledge towards educating the population. Grocery shopping is another hurdle people in poverty face. It is a challenge to find healthy foods for a reasonable price while overwhelmed by all of the selections at grocery stores. Shopping assistance is a way in which the education aspect can be addressed to help reduce the impact of this burden.
Another key point is the spike in prices of produce since 1980 and its impact on the hunger epidemic. With this increase of prices, processed food companies started to decrease their prices to compete for customers and gain a larger demand for their goods. Processed goods often come in bulk, making it easier for people struggling with poverty because they can buy more for less.
Ideologies promoted in the Film:
Our welfare system is corrupt, and it does not actually focus on meeting the needs of those with the most extenuating circumstances. Food stamp funding is not adequate for the requirements that it needs to meet. We often cut fundings from one social good to fund another, which is not effective. Another ideology is the humiliation associated with the use of food banks and soup kitchens. This is often hard for children, and especially for their parents who are trying to give their children better lives.
The humiliation associated with hunger is widespread. Hunger does not discriminate. Many people view a police officer as a financially desirable job, however, it is shocking to see the struggles of Adam Appelhanz, a Town Marshall. Appelhanz has struggled to maintain his foodstock, as his salary remained unchanged but the prices of food rose.
Supporting Quotations:
“In this country, the most basic human need must become a human right” (42:14)
Appelhanz: “The way it makes me feel, it’s very humiliating…it’s very grounding” (50:50)
Linkages to Class:
Food deserts enhance the problem of starvation. Food deserts are areas where access to affordable food is limited because grocery stores are too far away. Due to this, many people have to spend money on transportation that they would otherwise be spending on groceries.
In class, discussion has been based around the stigmas associated with obesity. Often times, people who are obese are seen as lazy, lower-class citizens who lack motivation. As we see, this is not always true; obesity is a result of our environmental factors and the resources we have. Obesity contributes to many other health issues such as Diabetes and Congestive Heart Failure.
Supporting Quotations:
“1 in 3 children born in the U.S. in the year 2000 will develop Type 2 Diabetes.” (59:58)
Key Storylines:
Barbie Izquierdo is a woman who grew up in poverty and is now a single mother of two, raising her children in poverty. She is determined to attend college, find work, and give her kids a better life, however their early development has been stunted by their hunger.
(Untitled Illustration of Barbie Izquierda).
Tremonica is a young student in the second grade struggling to get the adequate nutrients. She skips breakfast, and after school she often eats chips, cookies, and soda for snack. Tremonica is very overweight, which bothers her mother, who is unable to afford healthy fruits and vegetables for her.
Rosie is another young student whose hunger is impacting her future. She struggles to focus in school due to her constant focus on her hunger. Rosie is a classic example of the effect that hunger has on students. Her teacher Leslie Nichols also grew up hungry, but she is trying to combat Rosie’s problems by bringing her family food. However, she feels guilty about the nutritional value of the food that she is providing.
(Rosie in a Place at the Table)
Adam Appelhanz is a Town Marshall for a struggling community. His workforce has been significantly reduced, and he is the only remaining police officer for the town. He has not received a raise in over four years, yet the prices of food are steadily increasing. Despite his employment, he struggles to satisfy his needs,
Supporting Quotations:
Barbie: “All my life I knew what it was like to eat oodles of noodles seven days a week, three, four times a day, cause it’s all we had.” (9:57)
Leslie Nichols: “I know how I operated. It wasn’t very good. I didn’t do well in school. I didn’t have that great of attendance. And I just felt like I kind of lived under this umbrella of feeling inferior to others.” (54:29)
Emily’s Opinion:
Overall, the documentary was very insightful and carried strong storylines. The face-to-face interviews were interesting, but the lack of organization made it hard to follow. It would have been easier to follow if the stories had been grouped together instead of revisited throughout the entirety of the documentary. The documentary did a great job of showing that hunger is a widespread issue that affects a diverse group of people. It also provided an in-depth description of the legislative issues surrounding poverty and hunger.
Supporting Quotations:
“We have to put a system in place where people have enough time – to get themselves back on their feet. It’s not like you get a full-time job and the next month you’re off of food stamps, and all is – all is well, it doesn’t happen that way” (1:09:47)
“I feel like America has this huge stigma of how families are supposed to eat together at a table. But they don’t talk about what it takes to get you there. Or what’s actually there when you’re actually at the table.” (1:11:10)
Megan’s Opinion:
I think the movie did a great job at stressing the importance of poverty and that we as a nation are in dire need of a solution that’s accommodating and can be applied to those who are in need.
Strengths and weaknesses: A strength from the movie would be interviewing different perspectives because that emphasizes that poverty is not just affecting one area of our country and is instead affecting millions of people. I also believe they did a great job at exploiting the lack of education and support from our government. Lasty, the producers did a great job at focusing on the importance of nutrition and why it needs to be stressed about way more. The lack of nutrition/food sources not only ensures families will go hungry, but it also affects the children and their education, the families health, and finances.
Quotations: My favorite quote from the movie that describes the overall view/urgency most people in the U.S has on poverty was said perfectly by Jeff Bridges, the found of End Of Hunger Network. Jeff Bridges describes it like this: It’s a problem that people are ashamed of acknowledging. Our own government is ashamed of acknowledging it… we are in denial. (7:54). It’s a comment that goes over a lot of people’s heads, but it is true. Most people deny the concept of hunger/poverty because it doesn’t affect them personally.
Descriptions of the Film: A Place at the Table highlights the importance of nutrition in our society and that it’s a necessity that’s not available to a large portion of the U.S.. We are able to hear out different individuals and how the struggle of poverty has affected them in specific ways. From a single mother with two young boys struggling with the upkeep of medical bills to a little girl living in unbearable conditions with her family of 7, we see that nutrition has a huge impact on other aspects of life.
Citations:
Silverbush, L (Producer). & Jacobson, K (Director). A Place at the Table [Motion Picture]. United States: Participant Media
[Untitled Illustration of A Place at the Table Logo]. Retrieved March 3, 2019 from https://www.ediblebrooklyn.com/event/screening-and-discussion-a-place-at-the-table/
[Untitled Illustration of Barbie Izquierda]. Retrieved March 3, 2019 from https://www.kcur.org/post/hungry-americans-line-place-table#stream/0
Rosie in a Place at the Table [Online image]. Retrieved March 3, 2019 from http://www.magpictures.com/presskit.aspx?id=e016f484-4c9a-4401-8fbc-e19eb2119389