The Civil Wars & T Bone Burnett team up to fight hunger on soundtrack for “A Place At The Table”

By Hilary Gridley

How can musicians help the 49 million Americans who don’t know where their next meal is coming from? By teaming up with veteran documentary filmmakers, celebrity chefs, and poverty experts to give a voice to the 30% of American families for whom food insecurity is a real and constant threat.

Grammy award-winning folk artists The Civil Wars and Oscar-winning songwriter, producer and recording artist T Bone Burnett joined together to soundtrack “A Place At The Table,” a new full-length documentary that shines a light on the US hunger crisis. In addition to providing music for the film, the artists will donate all proceeds from album sales to The Participant Foundation, which uses storytelling to entertain audiences while inviting them to make a difference. Through its digital division, TakePart, the foundation helps shape films and documentaries with specific social action campaigns designed to give a voice to issues that resonate in the films.

The Civil Wars

The Civil Wars’ Joy Williams spoke enthusiastically about her role in the film. “Being a part of ‘A Place At The Table’ opened my eyes to an epidemic that is happening in our country right now—underneath many of our noses,” she noted. “It’s happening to our neighbors, to our friends, to children. It’s a silent battle that can be won, if we as a nation set our minds to ending it.”

Her bandmate, John Paul White, felt personally connected to the project, saying the issue “hit home extremely hard for me; as a very young husband and father, I was a part of the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) and food stamps program. I don’t like to dwell much on the past, but I hate to think where I would be without those programs.”

They’re not alone in their dedication to the cause. “A Place At The Table” features such diverse stars as Jeff Bridges and Tom Colicchio as well as economist/activist Raj Patel and real Americans dealing with food insecurity.

Download the film and soundtrack here via iTunes, and visit TakePart to learn what you can do about the hunger crisis in America.

Check out the trailer for “A Place At The Table”

 

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