The Daily Show's Jon Stewart spoke to directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush about their new documentary "A Place at the Table," which highlights the issue of food insecurity in the United States.
February 27, 2013

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart spoke to directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush about their new documentary coming to theaters and available on demand and at iTunes on March 1st, A Place at the Table, which highlights the issue of food insecurity in the United States and what can be done to solve it.

Sadly as the film's directors pointed out, after a lot of outrage after a 1968 documentary came out on hunger in America, our politicians at the time reacted and went a long way towards eradicating hunger in America and put in place a social safety net to make sure we did not have Americans suffering from the type of food insecurity that outraged so many.

Stewart asked them what happened to change that and how we wound up facing the same problem now and you could probably sum it up in just a few words: Ronald Reagan and demonizing welfare queens -- or pretending we've got some "moocher class" out there that we see demonized on Fox daily by the likes of Bill O'Reilly and his ilk today.

Jacobson and Silverbush are hoping that raising awareness about the fact that we have religious institutions overwhelmed right now trying to take up the slack for the job that our government should be doing will motivate citizens to get out there and put pressure on the politicians to act and address the problem.

Here's more from their press release: About The Film:

50 million people in the U.S.-one in four children-don’t know where their next meal is coming from, despite our having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all Americans. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine this issue through the lens of three people who are struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford.

Their stories are interwoven with insights from experts including sociologist Janet Poppendieck, author Raj Patel and nutrition policy leader Marion Nestle; ordinary citizens like Pastor Bob Wilson and teachers Leslie Nichols and Odessa Cherry; and activists such as Witness to Hunger’s Mariana Chilton, Top Chef’s Tom Colicchio and Oscar®-winning actor Jeff Bridges.

Ultimately, A Place at the Table shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides-as they have in the past-that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all.

You can read more about their campaign here and can watch the trailer below.

[oldembed src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TnuawGkTRzo" width="450" height="253" resize="1" fid="21"]

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