The U.S kicks off its week today with a food-induced Super Bowl hangover. While a 35-minute blackout, Beyonce and - oh yeah - a football game headlined the 47th edition of America's favorite unofficial holiday, the real takeaway was (and almost always is) the amount of food Super Bowl revelers consumed. But while pigskin fanatics and non-football fans alike gorged on everything from nachos to chicken wings to pizza, roughly fifty million Americans were left wondering where their next meal would come from. One in five children fall into the category of food insecure and nearly three in five in this category receive some type of government food assistance, including food stamps. The food stamp program - or SNAP – provides an average of $33.35 per week for food, or $4.76 a day. For many of these people, it’s not just whether they can get an adequate amount of food, it’s the kind of food they have access to. That often means obesity-inducing and health-impeding fast food, or as what some critics call “food-like products." The new documentary based on the book, “A Place at the Table” explores these dueling, yet connected epidemics. The film shows the economic, social and cultural impact of hunger and poverty on the country and how the solution goes beyond healthy food. We’ll discuss these issues with the men behind the film and more when we see you at noon ET on msnbc.
PANEL
Ryan Grim, Washington Bureau Chief, The Huffington Post (@ryangrim)
Nia Malika Hendersen, The Washington Post (@niawapo)
Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (@econjared)
Benjamin Wallace-Wells, Contributing Editor, New York Magazine (@benwallacewells)
GUESTS
Peter Pringle and Bill Shore, A Place At The Table
Ilyse Hogue, President, NARAL (@ilyseh)