Food Stamped

In this engaging documentary, a young Berkeley couple—nutritionist Shira Potash and her filmmaker husband, Yoav—set out to see whether they can survive and eat healthfully (and, ideally, organically) for a week on $75—the maximum amount two people would be entitled to under the federal food stamp program (the average is $40 to $50). The pair succeed—barely—making labor-intensive meals with fresh produce, beans, brown rice, lentils, eggs, and oatmeal. The point they effectively make is that their achievement took a lot of knowledge, time, and effort. Interspersed with shots of the Potashes buying and cooking food, dumpster-diving at a bakery outlet store, and serving friends a frittata made with bargain sweet potatoes and free cheese samples from the market, are interviews with food stamp clients, agency officials, and school lunch administrators. The Potashes travel with one recipient some 40 miles to the nearest discount grocer, where the man spends his entire monthly allotment in one trip; knowledgeable about nutrition, he nevertheless fills his cart with ramen, bacon, and cheap carbohydrates because those are what he can afford. Sadly, less nutritious processed food is cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables, thanks to factors such as Congress's farm legislation, which subsidizes starches like soy, corn, wheat, and rice while ignoring produce and organic farming. DVD extras include bonus interview footage of four members of Congress who tried the same shop-and-eat project. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Gardner)