A Place At The Table Documentary Analysis

According to A Place at the Table there are 50 million Americans, 30% of the population, that are food insecure; they do not know where there next meal will come from. A Place at the Table is a documentary that reviews how food insecurity has skyrocketed since the 1980’s when government social policies were reduced. The documentary recounts the story of three specific families across the country (Colorado, Mississippi and Pennsylvania) that live food insecure. A Place at the Table focuses on the families’ daily struggles, not only with food insecurity but also education, health, day care and housing; it also shows how others in their communities are affected by food insecurity. A Place at the Table highlights the inequality of government …show more content…
This poverty leads to families to not meet their basic needs. Due to poverty, even when one or more persons are employed in the home they do not have access to fresh food and vegetables; the film estimates that 23.5 million people live in food deserts (no fresh fruit or vegetables available at their local market). Currently many people living with food insecurity must rely on charity, such as food banks and soup kitchens, to extend their food stamp dollars or feed their families when they are ineligible for food stamps. Obviously, persons living in poverty and seeking charity do not feel that their lives are happy and successful; there are many stressors for these families. Many people in the U.S. do not feel that it is right that people receive assistance either by government programs or charity; they feel that if the work hard they should be able to provide for themselves and their families. Other people feel the farm subsidies and current social programs are more than adequate to meet Americans needs; the problem is America is good at hiding its food insecure and poverty stricken