Soul Food Junkies

Community Cinema ~ Soul Food Junkies

Monday, January 14, 2013 - 6:30pm to 7:30pm
  • Library Hall

A  free preview screening of the PBS Independent Lens documentary Soul Food Junkies, a film by Byron Hurt.

To many African Americans, soul food is sacrament, ritual, and a key expression of cultural identity. But does this traditional cuisine do more harm to health than it soothes the soul?

This screening is presented in partnership with LiveWell Northwest Colorado. LiveWell  will be on hand to put a local lens on this issue, since here in Colorado the childhood obesity ranking fell from third leanest in the nation to an abysmal twenty-third in just four years. LiveWell wil be at the library to introduce the community to their local programs and some of their user-friendly tools to promote a healthy lifestyle -- and to lead a discussion about how cultural cuisine preferences can affect everyone's lives.

About the film
A historical and culinary journey to learn more about the soul food tradition and its relevance to black cultural identity. Inspired by the filmmaker's  father’s lifelong love affair with the high-fat, calorie-rich traditional soul food diet and his unwillingness to give it up even in the face of a life-threatening health crisis. He discovers that the relationship between African Americans and culinary dishes like ribs, grits, and fried chicken is culturally based, deep-rooted, complex and often deadly.

Through candid interviews with soul food cooks, historians, and scholars, as well as with doctors, family members, and everyday people, Soul Food Junkies puts this culinary tradition under the microscope to examine both its positive and negative consequences. The film explores the socioeconomic conditions in predominantly black neighborhoods, where it can be difficult to find healthy options, and meets some pioneers in the emerging food justice movement who are challenging the food industry, encouraging communities to “go back to the land” by creating sustainable and eco-friendly gardens, advocating for healthier options in local supermarkets, supporting local farmers' markets, avoiding highly processed fast foods, and cooking healthier versions of traditional soul food.

ABOUT COMMUNITY CINEMA
Community Cinema is a groundbreaking public education and civic engagement initiative featuring free monthly screenings of films from the Emmy Award-winning series Independent Lens and other PBS presentations. Community Cinema is on location in more than 95 cities nationally, bringing together leading organizations, community members, and public television stations to learn, discuss, and get involved in key social issues of our time.

ABOUT ITVS
The Independent Television Service funds, presents, and promotes award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web, and the Emmy® Award-winning weekly series Independent Lens on Monday nights at 10:00 PM on PBS. Mandated by Congress in 1988 and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, ITVS has brought more than one thousand independently produced programs to date to American audiences.  www.itvs.org.

ABOUT LiveWell COLORADO
LiveWell Colorado is a nonprofit organization committed to reducing obesity in Colorado by promoting healthy eating and active living. In addition to educating and inspiring people to make healthy choices, LiveWell Colorado focuses on policy, environmental and lifestyle changes that remove barriers and increase access to healthy behaviors. Working in partnership with obesity prevention initiatives across the state, LiveWell Colorado aims to provide every Coloradan with access to healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity in the places they live, work, learn and play.

Made possible by a partnership with Rocky Mountain PBS.