Free Showing of A Place at the Table: Provides a Look at Food Insecurity

This Tuesday September 20th, at 7pm, the Egyptian Theatre is providing a free public showing of the award winning film “A Place At the Table.” The doors will open at 6pm with time to meet and learn how you can become involved with the efforts taking place in DeKalb County to end hunger and food insecurity. The movie will begin at 7pm and a short panel discussion will follow the showing at 8:30. The panel will be made up of individuals who are working daily to end food insecurity in DeKalb County. The panel will be moderated by Dan Kenney, executive director of DeKalb County Community Gardens. Other local organizations involved in the evening include: The DeKalb County Local Food Security Council, Kish Health, now part of Northwestern Medicine, Barb Food Mart, Voluntary Action Center, Hope Haven, Safe Passage, DeKalb County Health department, Live Healthy DeKalb County, DeKalb County Community Gardens, DeKalb County Community Foundation, and Northern Illinois University. The showing is in connection with September being Hunger Awareness month.

In Illinois 1 in 7 people struggle with hunger. In DeKalb County, 20.3% of our children live with food insecurity, according to the Feeding America website, and statistics provided by the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Over 13,000 people in DeKalb County live without knowing where or when they may eat their next meal.

As a board member of both DCCG and the Egyptian Theatre, Nancy Proesel chose to show “A Place at the table” to raise awareness about hunger issues effecting DeKalb County. Egyptian Theatre connects with a different non-profit agency each year to present a documentary free to the public. The Egyptian Board hopes that local agencies are encouraged to participate in this discussion. NIU students are also encouraged to attend.

Fifty million people in the U.S.—one in four children—don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine the issue of hunger in America through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford.