A Place at the Table Page #7

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I just sit on the side of the bed

and halfway doze.

Okay, for the last couple of days,

how have you been doing?

Uh, if I walk ten steps,

I get out of breath.

Obesity makes

all other medical problems worse.

High blood pressure, diabetes.

We probably diagnose

new cases of diabetes

four, five, six times a week.

This is Dr. Booker.

I need a telemetry bed

- for Mr. John Broom.

- John Broom.

Congestive heart failure.

I'm going to directly admit him.

He's gonna bring his orders

by the emergency room.

Those younger people

who are developing those diseases

at an early age are gonna get

the end-stage complications

a lot earlier.

So education is what

it's gonna take

to get people to do

what they need to do

to reduce some of these problems.

And we need to start it

very early on.

At the bathroom, line up at the door.

I am Odessa Cherry.

I am a second-grade teacher

here at Jonestown Elementary School.

Love it. I've been teaching

over 17 years.

I love the babies.

I was diagnosed with diabetes.

And it's been about a year...

almost a year.

And when I was first diagnosed,

I told the doctor,

"I don't want the pill.

"I think I can do it with just diet."

And so that was the one thing

that really

got me to thinking about

what you're eating.

Oh, check it out.

Did y'all see that?

Is that what...

Is that what sparked

y'all talkin'

about what he said, huh?

'Cause I was wondering

what it was.

And when the change started,

everybody was, like,

"What, no fried chicken?

"No fried fish?"

That was the biggest thing,

that fried fish, 'cause we love

catfish in this area.

I mean, if it's not fried,

it's not fish, so...

And it was just, "I don't eat that.

"I don't eat this. I don't like that.

I don't like..."

And I'm like,

"Have you tried it?"

And I have many of 'em say, "No."

And so I'm saying, "Try it."

And I'm trying to force myself

to try it because,

you know, this is new to me.

And once you eat it, it's like,

"That's not bad."

Now, that helped me

to understand the impact

that we can have on our children.

And the younger they are,

the better.

Awareness is the beginning.

You did good. Yeah.

This is a kitchen.

This is our table,

and this is our microwave.

If you want tea,

just push "hot water,"

And then it goes.

And it's really cool.

And this is our box

where we put all of our food

that we get from the food bank

and from Miss Nichols.

And this is our bedroom.

Excuse me...

It's not that pleasant.

This is where I sleep,

right on this pillow.

This is where my sister sleeps

with her dog.

And this is where we have...

put all of our clothes.

When my friends come over,

I get embarrassed

because they have

bigger rooms than I do.

And, well,

we try to keep it clean.

And I put flowers up

because I just wanted

to decorate it and make it look nice.

Kitty.

Is it that people are going hungry

because of a shortage of food?

No, it is not.

The reason

people are going hungry

is not because

of a shortage of food.

It's because of poverty.

Then, all of a sudden,

you're in a different question.

You're not asking,

"Why is there insufficient food?"

Which is this sort of

very beneficent question.

But it turns out to be,

"Why are people poor?"

And right there,

you're in a political question,

and one that's

far more difficult to answer,

and involves asking

questions about power,

and about, you know, class,

and about inequality,

and the persistent inequality

in this country.

And that's a much harder

question to ask

than the question about,

well, is there enough food in America?

To which,

clearly, the answer is yes.

Barbie, you got it.

So have a seat.

And, Mariana, I'm gonna

stick you over here.

From WHYY in Philadelphia,

this is Radio Times.

I'm Marty Moss-Coane.

And today on the show,

what does it mean

to be "food insecure"?

I mean, we shouldn't be surprised

that there are...

that there's hunger in this country,

when you look at the level of poverty.

And I wonder

just how much of a...

sort of denial there is out there.

And, of course, we are still,

as I think's true today,

the richest country in the world.

And this disconnect

between all this wealth

and people that don't have enough.

If you look at

the food insecurity numbers

in this country,

85% of those families

that are food insecure have at least

one working adult in the household.

So from my perspective,

how do people get out of poverty?

They get...

They earn a living wage.

And so I think we need to turn

it around to accountability.

It's government accountability.

It's also corporate

accountability for ensuring

that people get living wages.

I mean, it sounds like

a lot of emotional stress

and strain that you both have.

- The humiliation of it?

- Yes.

Being labeled

as "low income" is shameful in itself.

It's the reality,

but you don't want to admit

that, okay, I am of low income.

Or because of

we're of low income,

we have to stand in this line

and receive food from whoever

wants to give it to us.

- So I think... That's what...

- That's tough.

Yeah, how about for you, Crystal?

It seems like America has

turned a blind eye

to the fact that people are hungry

on a day-to-day basis.

It's not just women.

There's men

who are raising their children.

There are two-parent households

who go to work every day,

and still have

to turn to public assistance

to sustain their families,

which makes no sense.

Which is our bus?

We gotta watch out for the bus.

Do I got toothpaste on my face?

No? Okay.

No.

Yeah.

- No.

- Mm-hmm.

Mm-mm.

- Yep.

- Uh-uh.

There's a difference in your step.

Like, when you're on your way

to work,

and you know that

"I'm going to work now..."

It's a different type

of walk that you...

A different pace to your walk.

Okay.

Thank you for calling

the food stamp hotline.

How can I help you?

Okay,

so according to the information

that you've given me, it's telling me

you're eligible

for about $16 in food stamps.

Do you have any other questions?

It's hectic sometimes,

but I just look at it

as though every day

I have the chance to put food

in someone's mouth.

Not directly, but I know what it's like

to be turned down.

And now I'm on the other side,

so it makes me feel good.

Oh, my God, I'm gonna cry...

- Y'all want this?

- What?

- No.

- Why not?

Because.

Um, eat, um... sandwich.

All right, but you need

to eat food.

- We ate food.

- What you ate?

We ate chips.

That's not food.

That's it.

I want to eat, too.

- The meatballs.

- Who's gonna help me?

- Me. Me.

- Wait, Mommy.

Hold it.

Anyone can sit there

and tell you,

"Oh, I've been through this,

I've been through that.

"I got through it."

Yeah, I've been through this,

I've been through that,

I got through it,

but if you open my fridge,

I'm there again.

Five days into the month.

And I'm gonna be there

next month

and the month after that.

It gets tiring.

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