''A Place at the Table'' is a 2012 film produced by Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson, with appearances by

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...

Raj Patel Rajeev "Raj" Patel (born 1972) is a British Indian academic, journalist, activist and writer who has lived and worked in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the United States for extended periods. He has been referred to as "the rock star of social ju ...

, and chef

Tom Colicchio Thomas Patrick Colicchio (; born August 15, 1962) is an American celebrity chef. He co-founded the Gramercy Tavern in New York City, and formerly served as a co-owner and as the executive chef. He is also the founder of Crafted Hospitality, whic ...

. The film, concerning

hunger in the United States Hunger in the United States of America affects millions of Americans, including some who are middle class, or who are in households where all adults are in work. The United States produces far more food than it needs for domestic consumption—h ...

, was released theatrically in the United States on March 1, 2013.

Production background

Participant Media Participant Media, LLC is an American Film industry, film production company founded in 2004 by Jeffrey Skoll, dedicated to entertainment intended to spur social change. The company finances and co-produces film and television content, as well as ...

is the entertainment company behind the film, and it is distributed by

Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures is an American film distributor. It is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in both foreign and independent films. Mag ...

. The Participant/Magnolia team is also responsible for the film ''

Food, Inc. ''Food, Inc.'' is a 2008 American documentary film directed by Robert Kenner

'' (2008). The film was originally titled ''Finding North'' but the name was later changed to ''A Place at the Table''.

Synopsis

As of 2012, about 50 million Americans were food insecure. This was approximately 1 in 6 of the overall population, with the proportion of children facing

food insecurity Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

even higher at about 1 in 4. One in every two children receive federal food assistance. The film sees directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine the issue of hunger in America, largely through the stories of three people suffering from food insecurity: *Barbie, a single

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two children. *Rosie, a

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school. *Tremonica, a

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

second-grader whose asthma and health problems are exacerbated by the largely-empty calories her hard-working mother can afford. Other Americans struggling with hunger are also featured, including a cop whose monthly paychecks only leaves him enough money to buy food for two weeks, forcing him to use a

food bank A food bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty purchasing enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Some food banks distribute food direc ...

. ''A Place at the Table'' shows how hunger poses serious economic, social, and cultural implications for the United States, and that the problem can 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 everyone's best interest.

Book release

There is also a companion book titled ''A Place at the Table: The Crisis of 49 Million Hungry Americans and How to Solve It,'' edited by Peter Pringle and published by Public Affairs. The book features contributions from

, Ken Cook,

Marion Nestle Marion Nestle (born 1936) is an American molecular biologist, nutritionist, and public health advocate. She is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health Emerita at New York University. Her research examines s ...

, Bill Shore, Joel Berg, Robert Egger, Janet Poppendieck, David Beckmann, Mariana Chilton,

, Jennifer Harris, Andy Fisher, Kelly Meyer and directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush.

Awards

The film was nominated for Grand Jury Prize at the

2012 Sundance Film Festival The 2012 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 19 until January 29, 2012 in Park City, Utah. 64 short films were selected for the festival from 7,675 submissions, including 27 international shorts from 3,592 submissions. Non-competition ...

. At the 2013

IDA Documentary Awards International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Filmm ...

, the film received the Pare Lorentz Award, which recognizes films for model filmmaking while focusing on the use of the natural environment, and justice for all and the illumination of pressing social problems.

Critical reception

The film has received positive reviews. As of October 2015, it has a 90% approval ratings from 61 professional reviews aggregated by

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

. The following are a few examples of critical response to the film: *"''A Place at the Table'' forcefully makes the case that hunger has serious economic, social and cultural implications for the nation." - Julie Makinen, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' *"The film explains with devastating simplicity why so many go hungry in a country with more than enough food to go round." - ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' *"Beautifully shot and edited. The craft is of a very high level." - Toronto HotDocs Film Festival "Must See List" *"''A Place at the Table'' is an engaging and enraging movie that will enlist supporters for its cause." - ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

References

External links

* *
Participant Media

Magnolia Pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Place At The Table, The 2012 films 2012 documentary films American documentary films Documentary films about food and drink Documentary films about poverty in the United States Films scored by T Bone Burnett Hunger Participant (company) films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films