A Place at the Table Review

A Place at the Table is a startling at how food insecurity is affecting the United States in today.  Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine this issue through the eyes of three people who are struggling with food insecurity.  Barbie, a single mother with two children in Philadelphia; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader struggling with health issues.

The movie features statistics, opinions from experts, as well as commentaries from celebrities such as Jeff Bridges, and Tom Colicchio, a chef most known for being a judge on Top Chef.  Most important is the footage showing how these three people live and struggle to eat.  It provides the viewer with a glimpse of what it is like to live without being sure where your next meal might be coming from.  The film is also put together very well.

Obviously the film has an agenda, which is to inform the audience about this growing issue in the United States, and the film succeeds in delivering its message.  By showing the way these people live and giving the viewers a glimpse at what it may be like to deal with food insecurity, it gives the audience a chance to emphasize with these people.  You hear the stories of these people as well as others and can’t help but feel sorry for them.  I feel as though it may open eyes to the issue that is the film’s focus.

The film does a good job of explaining certain aspects of the issue, making them easy to understand.  One example was how obesity is linked to food insecurity.  Since unhealthier foods are cheaper than fruits and vegetables, someone with low income or that is using food stamps will buy the unhealthier food due to it being cheaper. 

While the film isn’t particularly exciting, it is a documentary, and most importantly does its job of informing the viewers of the issue of food insecurity.  The facts that are included within the film help increase the knowledge of the problem itself and can offer potential ideas of helping to make a change to fix these problems.

Health and Nutrition

Nutrition is of great importance, and sometimes people are not exactly sure how to follow nutrition, which can lead to health issues. Recently, Pennsylvania was named the 20th-fattest state in the country, with 27.8% of adults obese and a combined 64.5% of adults overweight or obese. This trend can lead to severe health consequences, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

A change in what you eat, to a healthier diet and maintaining the diet can help to prevent such health consequences. An example of healthier food choices would be eating fruits and vegetables, foods in low saturated fat and cholesterol and high fiber. Foods such as these can help to prevent things such as high blood cholesterol. Limiting the amount of sodium and salt in a diet can lower a person’s blood pressure. More information about eating healthy, as well as exercise tips, can be found at Anytime Health.

Exercise can do a lot to help improve health, and prevent health issues, in particular those involving the heart. A minimum of 30 minutes a day of exercise is an easy to maintain goal that can greatly improve heart health. Aerobic exercises such as walking and biking are very beneficial to your heart. It’s suggested to have at least 150 minutes of exercise per week. More exercise and health tips can be found at the Exercise and Nutrition Tips blog.

Staying healthy can be easy by following nutrition and exercising. A good bit of advice can be found at Healthy Living Online, which offers a variety of advice on staying healthy, eating better, and losing weight.