SustainFloyd will show “A Place at the Table” on Saturday as the final event of its 2013 Winter Film Series.
The film, which probes the issue of hunger in America, will be followed by a community discussion led by Elena Serrano and Meredith Ledlie Johnson and moderated by SustainFloyd Director Mike Burton.
Feeding America Southwest Virginia will sponsor the evening, which will feature a beans and rice dinner before the movie at 6 p.m. Feeding America is the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, feeding the nation’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks. The organization also engages our country in the fight to end hunger.
Dr. Serrano conducts research and provides leadership for the development, implementation, evaluation, and promotion of extension education programming in Virginia in childhood obesity, focusing on limited resource audiences. Dr. Serrano has conducted several effectiveness studies, including the effectiveness of the peer education program, La Cocina Saludable, with Latina WIC participants, as well as studies examining the capacity of various organizations to address childhood obesity. As an Extension Specialist, she trains Extension field and on-campus faculty, develops and evaluates educational materials, secures outside funding to support programming in the area, and partners with local, state, and national agencies, such as the Departments of Education and Health, to achieve health promotion goals. She has published numerous articles and reports for lay audiences, legislators, and other key stakeholders and has presented to a wide range of groups, including the Virginia General Assembly.
Johnson is the Community Nutrition Coordinator for Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Family Nutrition Program, which teaches low income Virginians across the state how to stretch their food budget in healthy ways with nutrition, budgeting and food safety. She manages the Food Security Project and partners with Farmers Markets that accept SNAP to help them engage their local communities in a way that serves both the community and the farmers. Meredith has experience as a farmers market manager, green space advocate, and currently sits on the board of the Blacksburg Farmers Market. Johnson holds a Masters in Social Work from Hunter College in New York City.
“A Place at the Table” tells the powerful stories of three such people, who maintain their dignity as they struggle just to eat. The film also looks at possible solutions.
A $5 donation for the movie, part of the SustainFloyd Winter Film Series, will be requested. The dinner, featuring a selection of beans and rice dishes, will be an additional $5. The doors of the Floyd Country Store will open at 6 p.m.
SustainFloyd, a non-profit organization, works to leverage and preserve Floyd County’s existing assets and traditional strengths in agriculture and craftsmanship to help build a resilient rural local economy. To learn more about SustainFloyd and its mission, go to www.sustainfloyd.org.
Details:
What: Everyone invited to SustainFloyd’s beans and rice dinner and screening of “A Place at the Table”
When: Doors open at 6 p.m. for dinner. Movie begins at 6:30 p.m. this Saturday, December 14th
Where: Floyd Country Store, 206 South Locust St., Floyd, VA
How: $5 donation/Movie; Dinner/ $5 donation. Evening sponsored by Feeding America Southwest Virginia.