Full Campuses. Empty Stomachs. Hungry for Change. The invisible epidemic has spread for too long. This documentary chronicles colleges and universities from across Virginia, from schools with billions in endowments to community colleges, struggling to fund their campus food pantries and support students grappling with food insecurity. Food pantry leaders team up with Swipe Out Hunger to lobby Virginia state legislators to pass the Hunger Free Campus Bill, which would allot $500,000 in state funding for schools to start or strengthen their fight against student hunger. After the bill passes, leaders, advocates, and students grapple with the ongoing stigma, federal funding cuts, heartbreaking personal experiences, and generational impacts of food insecurity on students. Featuring interviews with state representatives, campus food pantry leaders, and students, as well as poetry by Kim B Miller, this behind-the-scenes look at the ‘invisible epidemic’ of student hunger is a sobering, galvanizing, and ultimately poignant testament to the power of activism. Please note that the views and opinions expressed by individuals are their own and do not reflect the official policy, position, or opinions of any organization mentioned in this film.
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This is a powerful documentary about how college students mobilize to address the rising threat of hunger on their campuses. While produced in Virginia, USA, "The Invisible Epidemic" could just as well have been filmed on any campus in the US and around the world. So, kudos to Daniel McCain for klieg-lighting this until-now unknown story. And a big Yes! to poet Kim B. Miller as she gives voice to the cause by presenting her Poetry X Hunger poem, "The Hunger Dialect.".
Thank you for including my poem in this powerful documentary.
Very powerful!
I love this. My students and I are building the Maryland Campus Basic Needs Community of Practice. We could learn so much from Virginia’s work. Bravo!