SOCIAL ACTION INITIATIVE FOR FOOD, INC.

Through funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Participant Media and Active Voice have joined forces for a year-long social action program around the issues of food access and childhood obesity. The program, one component of Participant Media’s social action campaign for the highly acclaimed Oscar®-nominated documentary Food, Inc., includes screenings of the film in 30 communities across the country, plus panel discussions and advocacy engagement to increase the availability of affordable healthy foods for all Americans. 
 


This initiative, which aims to support a growing national movement to reverse epidemic rates of obesity among children and adolescents, focuses on African-American, Latino and lower-income communities where food issues are most acute. Materials addressing the challenges and potential solutions are distributed in both English and Spanish. In each community, organizers are partnering with local groups to strengthen efforts to engage residents and policy-makers.  
 


Since the program was launched last fall, events have taken place in such communities as Fresno, CA as part of the Central CA Obesity Prevention Program; in Odanah, WI as part of the Bad River Tribe (Chipewa) Healthy Lifestyles program; in Redding, CA in association with the Shasta-Cascade Food and Farm Coalition; and in Detroit, MI with EcoZoic Detroit and Detroit Abides.
 


“Thanks to the generous grant to our colleagues at Active Voice from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we are bringing Food, Inc. and its important messages to communities that are among the most significantly affected by poor food access,” said John Schreiber, Participant Media’s Executive Vice President of Social Action. “We are raising awareness and inspiring on-the-ground activism.”
 


"Food, Inc. features the stories of brave people who are standing up to take control of their food system," said Ellen Schneider, Executive Director of Active Voice. "This campaign is about encouraging others throughout the country to stand up too, particularly around the urgent problem of childhood obesity."
 


The $248,000 grant is part of the Foundation’s commitment to reverse childhood obesity by 2015. “This initiative will help us reach that goal by drawing attention to many communities’ limited food choices and their often devastating impact on health,” said Dwayne C. Proctor, Director of the Foundation’s Childhood Obesity team.


Food, Inc., from Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media and River Road Entertainment, is currently playing in theaters nationwide.  In Food, Inc., filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of government regulatory agencies. The documentary shows how the food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and the environment. 



Featuring authors Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) and Michael Pollan (The Omnivore's Dilemma), along with forward-thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farm's Gary Hirshberg, Food, Inc. reveals surprising—even shocking—truths about what we eat, how it's produced and why it can make us sick.



Participant Media is a Los Angeles-based entertainment company that focuses on socially relevant, commercially viable feature films, documentaries and television, as well as publishing and digital media. Participant Media is headed by CEO Jim Berk and was founded in 2004 by philanthropist Jeff Skoll, who serves as Chairman. Ricky Strauss is President.
 


Participant exists to tell compelling, entertaining stories that bring to the forefront real issues that shape our lives.  For each of its projects, Participant creates extensive social action and advocacy programs which provide ideas and tools to transform the impact of the media experience into individual and community action.  Participant’s films include The Kite Runner, Charlie Wilson’s War, Darfur Now, An Inconvenient Truth, Good, Night and Good Luck., Syriana, Standard Operating Procedure, The Visitor, The Soloist, Food, Inc., The Informant! and The Crazies.



Active Voice uses film, television and multimedia to spark social change from grassroots to grass tops. Its team of strategic communications specialists works with mediamakers, funders, advocates and thought leaders to put a human face on the issues of our times. Since our inception in 2001, Active Voice has built a diverse portfolio of story-based campaigns focusing on issues including immigration, criminal justice, healthcare and sustainability.