To celebrate National Co-op Month, a special Food For Thought film series event!
When?: Wednesday, October 17 at 6:30 p.m.
Where?: The Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, 508 South Main Street
How much?: Free to all, so bring a friend!
Every spring and fall, The Moscow Food Co-op brings you free screenings of educational films along with the help of community partners like the University of Idaho and the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre. This October is Co-op Month, a time to reflect on the benefits of cooperative ownership, and the film we bring to you is one that tells the story of the cooperative food movement.
Click here to watch the trailer!
A provocative new film looks at the current resurgence of food co-operatives in America, and their unique historic place in America’s economic and political landscape—somewhere between Adam Smith & Eugene Debs.
Food For Change, a feature-length (84 min.) documentary from Home Planet Pictures, tells the story of the co-op movement in the U.S. through a combination of interviews, rare archival footage, and commentary by co-op leaders and historians.
The film examines the key role played by consumer-led food co-ops during the decades-long debate over profit-driven capitalism vs. locally-controlled economic enterprises. Born in the heartland, cooperatives were seen as the middle path between Wall Street and Socialism.
Filmmaker Steve Alves describes his documentary as “one part food, to two parts politics, to three parts economics.” Alves tracks the co-op movement’s quest for whole and organic foods, and the dream of sustainable food systems. The film profiles several current food
co-ops that have revived neighborhoods and entire communities---right in the shadow of corporate agribusiness and national supermarket chain stores.
“Today we’re experiencing a renaissance of American food co-ops,” says Sean Doyle, General Manager of the Seward Co-op. “These are not marginal enterprises—they are successful and dynamic businesses that are revitalizing communities across the United States. People are once again taking more control over the economic forces in their lives.”
Rating: Not rated by the MPAA (but appropriate for all ages)
Runtime: 84 minutes