An appreciative and engaged audience viewed the second film in our spring series. As advertised, Foodstamped, chronicled the journey of a young couple struggling to live on a foodstamp budget for a week. We traveled with them to food banks, to seriously humorous food shopping and foraging trips and to farmers markets. Along the way, we gained insight into the world of the food insecure.
Following the film, Sara Szwankowski and Virginia Orejel from The Chicago Food Depository, Kelly Koss of Campus Kitchens NU and Miranda Cawley of NURealFood, explained the work of their organizations and discussed food issues with the audience. We learned the process of applying for a Link card and about community outreach programs from Sara and Virginia. Miranda intrigued us with NU students’ letter campaign to President Shapiro urging the university to purchase 20% of campus food from local sources. Kelly wows everyone when she mentions that in 2014 CKNU served over 34,000 meals to Evanston residents.
And this audience came to participate!! One person reported on her own experiment with foodstamp budget cooking. A Chicago Public School teacher reported that students have reacted favorably to healthier foods at Stephen A. Hayt School where she teaches. Other audience members commented on the subsidies received by the processed food giants. The film pointed out that the small farmers at markets don’t receive these tax payer supports. Panel and audience agreed that education was the key to a change in our food system.
