The Hand That Feeds

Robin Blotnick and Rachel Lears (2014, U.S., 85 min.) + short film + post-film discussion

How many hands touched your food before you ate it today? How many hidden systems of labor went into that coffee in your cup or that bagel in your hand? So much of our food landscape relies not only on invisible labor and but on that labor being invisible in order to shirk accountability.

In The Hand That Feeds, however, we see a brave group of invisible food laborers willing to stand up for their rights, even when working as undocumented workers at grave risk of deportation. Moreover, we see the end of the food chain closest to our table but still so often forgotten. In this triumphant tale, we witness striking workers at an Upper East Side New York City bakery demanding better working conditions. The local, often politically liberal customers are all for fair treatment in theory, but when it jeopardizes their convenient daily coffee will they still be allies? An uplifting story of the power of individuals to affect change, this screening will be followed by a post-film discussion about labor in the food system facilitated by the Center for Workers’ Rights and the Ross Student Farm.

(Shown in partnership with the Center for Workers’ Rights and Ross Student Farm)