Place at the Table

Forty-nine million people--including one in four children--go hungry in the U.S. every day, despite our having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all. Inspired by the acclaimed documentary A Place at the Table, this companion book offers powerful insights from those at the front lines of solving hunger in America, including: Jeff Bridges, Academy Award--winning actor, cofounder of the End Hunger Network, and spokesperson for the No Kid Hungry Campaign, on raising awareness about hunger Ken Cook, president of Environmental Working Group, unravels the inequities in the Farm Bill and shows how they affect America's hunger crisis Marion Nestle, nutritionist and acclaimed critic of the food industry, whose latest work tracks the explosion of calories in today's "Eat More" environment Bill Shore, Joel Berg, and Robert Egger, widely-published anti-hunger activists, suggest bold and diverse strategies for solving the crisis Janet Poppendieck, sociologist, bestselling author, and well-known historian of poverty and hunger in America, argues the case for school lunch reform Jennifer Harris, of Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, uncovers the new hidden persuaders of web food advertisers David Beckmann, head of Bread for the World, and Sarah Newman, researcher on A Place at the Table, explore the intersection of faith and feeding the hungry Mariana Chilton, director of Drexel University's Center for Hunger-Free Communities, discusses the health impacts of hunger and the groundbreaking Witnesses to Hunger project Tom Colicchio, chef and executive producer of television's Top Chef, presents his down-to-earth case to Washington for increases in child nutrition programs Andy Fisher, veteran activist in community food projects, argues persuasively why we have to move beyond the charity-based emergency feeding program Kelly Meyer, cofounder of Teaching Gardens, illuminates the path to educating, and providing healthy food for, all children Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush, the film's directors/producers, tell their personal stories of how and why they came to make the documentary Hunger and food insecurity pose a deep threat to our nation. A Place at the Table shows they 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 the best interest of us all.