In the documentary "A Place at the Table," the topic of starvation in America is explored. Barbie, Rosie, and Tremonica are the three main characters who are impacted by food insecurity in the movie. (Jacobson and Silverbush). Barbie is a single mother who grew up in a low-income family and is attempting to provide a better existence for her kids. Schoolgirl Rosie struggles to focus on her studies and relies on her peers and neighbors for food. Tremonica attends school as well, and the empty caloric her hard-working mother provides to her cause additional health issues. There are other Americans affected by food insecurity featured in the movie like a police officer whose monthly earnings are only enough to buy food for two weeks, leading him to opt to food bank.
“A place at the Table” illustrates how food insecurity impacts to serious social, cultural, and economic problems in the United States, and the issue can be solved if the Americans decides, as they had previously done, that making quality and healthy food affordable and accessible is for the best interest of everyone (Coleman-Jensen and Service. 17). In addition to real life stories of individuals faced with hunger, the documentary includes interviews of several food policy activists and experts.
To me, the film is a polished package that explains why many people are affected by food insecurity in America while there is more than enough food to sustain them very effectively and simply. Furthermore, “A place at the table” is a magnificently shot and edited film with high level tools of craftsmanship. The film enlightens the Americans on the issue of hunger since it is taken as a straightforward and easily solvable problem. The documentary also helps people in the United States understand the seriousness of the issue of food insecurity and get involved in solving it.
Works Cited
Coleman-Jensen, Alisha and United States. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. Household food security in the United States in 2014. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 2015.
