America is one of the world’s wealthiest nations. Yet we remain the only country in the developed world where millions go hungry, despite having sufficient resources, technology, and farmable land to provide nutritious, affordable food for all. Hungry in America is a feature-length documentary that shines a light on the problem of domestic hunger, presenting both an exploration of hunger’s root causes and a verité portrayal of the many faces of hunger in the United States.
As filmmakers, it is our job to ask tough questions about why a nation that could feed all of its people has failed to do so. To that end, we have reached out to experts and those on the front lines of the fight to end hunger, asking for their take on the problem and its solutions. To a one, they agreed that the problem is solvable, should we decide as a nation to make it happen. What follows are three essays by crusaders on the concept of food as a basic human right, and what it will take to end hunger.
Lori Silverbush and Kristi Jacobson are filmmakers in New York City.