Food, Inc. - Ingredients for Change

The documentary Food, Inc. lifts the veil on America’s highly mechanized, corporate-controlled food industry, revealing a system that is an increasing threat to the health of consumers, the safety of workers, and the future of the environment. Active Voice, together with Participant Media, ran the Ingredients for Change Campaign, a year-long initiative consisting of a series of community engagement screenings and discussions. These events were held in lower-income areas throughout the country that face a lack of access to nutritional foods and disproportionately high rates of obesity and other diet-related health problems. The Ingredients for Change Campaign: galvanized local stakeholders and built coalitions to help reverse the obesity epidemic, particularly childhood obesity rates, through environmental and policy change; raised awareness and engaged the public by giving parents and educators the information and tools to advocate for improved access to affordable healthy foods and strengthened food regulation; and educated local policy-makers about obesity-prevention actions they can take in their communities. These goals were accomplished through a variety of project activities. Thirty community engagement screenings were held nationwide in lower-income areas that suffer from high obesity rates and inadequate access to healthy food. Organized in conjunction with local advocacy organizations, the screenings were accompanied by panel discussions and facilitated community dialogue. The Campaign also worked with community-based organizations to identify local food and public health advocacy priorities such as healthier school menus and greater access to nutritious foods. Action resource guides were published in both English and Spanish to help facilitate conversations and mobilize communities. An Ingredients for Change peer-learning network was also created to sustain long-term advocacy efforts at local and state levels, captured in a quarterly newsletter, a blog, and user-generated content.