Co-directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush don’t dig far enough in providing context to the personal stories of starvation they show to exemplify America’s hunger crisis, but the filmmakers still manage to get their point across.
The astonishing statistic that 50 million Americans go hungry every day is a touchstone for this hastily crafted documentary. “Food insecure” is the term used to describe starvation in a country so obsessed with bogus security measures and conducting six wars in the name of “freedom” that it has lost sight of its own third world plight.
The film’s most devastating example comes from Barbie Izquierdo, a single mother in Philadelphia whose low-wage job puts her two dollars above the limit to make her eligible for food stamps. As a result of malnutrition, her young son suffers from a litany of disabilities. The realization that Izquierdo’s untenable condition is occurring to millions of other America families puts a lump in your throat.
“A Place at the Table” may not be the most competently edited documentary, but it does sound a much-needed clarion call for help in a country ruled by corruption and greed.
Rated PG. 84 mins.
