America is one of the world’s wealthiest nations. Yet we remain the only country in the developed world where millions go hungry, despite having sufficient resources, technology and farmable land to provide nutritious, affordable food for all. Directed by award-winning filmmakers Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson, A Place At The Table is a feature-length documentary that presents an unflinching look at the root causes behind this sobering reality and asks tough questions about why a nation that could fee all of its citizens failed to do so.
Combing memorable characters with an exploration of the history and politics of hunger, A Place At The Table takes viewers on a moving verite journey into the diverse lives of the struggling suburbanites, military families, elderly, urban dwellers and working parents who make up the surprising faces of hunger in the U.S and those courageously fighting the issue on the front lines. These stories along with commentary from experts and advocates who clearly lay out the causes and consequences of hunger, put a human face on the politics and policies that have caused 38 million Americans- including 14 million children- to go hungry. Our film’s subjects bring us from the intimate settings of the homes and daily lives of America’s hungry, to the halls of Congress and boardrooms of corporate America, where we meet the government officials and business titans who have played a role in attempting to solve this crisis, but in some cases, have made it worse. A Place At The Table integrates these stories with archival footage, including scenes from CBS’ 1968 Hunger In America, that shocked America and spawned a host of hunger relief programs that nearly eradicated domestic hunger by the late 1970s. Clips of presidents through the years, whose responses (or lack thereof) have brought us back to the present crisis, create historical context. Animation provides audiences with visually graspable illustrations of key points, like how the farm bill works, and the devastating and costly cascade of health and emotional effects that hunger has on developing children. Ultimately, Hungry In America presents a comprehensive and riveting view of how and why millions of Americans experience chronic, debilitating hunger here, in one of the richest nations on earth. Most importantly, the film builds to a startling conclusion- that hunger in the U.S is man-made and therefore solvable. The project’s outreach and social impact campaign will galvanize, empower, and guide educated audiences- from influencers to take action to bring about fair and responsible allocation of existing resources to wipe out domestic hunger once and for all.
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