By Peter Murphy’24
A group of Frederick Gunn students watched, analyzed, and learned about social justice issues for their Winterim course titled Social Justice in Documentary Film. This course took place over two weeks, and the class learned about different pressing political topics in America.
One particular documentary shown to the class was a film called A Place at The Table by Jeff Bridges. This documentary discussed the topic of food deserts in America and how many people across the country endure a term called “Food insecurity.” Students had the opportunity to learn through this film about how the ever-changing economy in America affects the daily lives of people who cannot afford the simple luxury of fruits and vegetables that we often take for granted. Students re-learned the importance of healthy eating habits, as the sheer importance of healthy eating was shown in the film.
The documentary film class decided to act on the problem of food deserts after watching this documentary film and traveled to Connecticut’s Healing Meal Project, where students helped prepare meals at a local food kitchen. Mrs. Leathers, a proud member of the Frederick Gunn School community, is one of the Directors of the Healing Meals Project. Before their work, Mrs. Leathers informed the students about what Healing Meals means for the recipients of the food. The Highlanders broke into groups of three and engaged in various activities in the kitchen. Each station was very different, and each had a unique impact on what they were doing.
The stations the Highlanders were sent to consisted of writing letters to the recipients of the food, packing cookbooks, making granola bites, and decorating the kitchen for the holidays. Once the Highlanders finished their work, they all slapped their name tags on the wall where previous members’ name tags were put, said their goodbyes, and drove back to campus with more knowledge about healthy eating and helping others.
