Starved: Our Food Insecurity Crisis
Join us for the short film Starved: Our Food Insecurity Crisis followed by discussion with two local food pantries.
Register today at https://franciscansisters-olph.org/events/sept9-ffe-film-starved/
to join the Sisters and other Franciscans For Earth on Tuesday, Sept 9, 2025, from 6:30 to 8 pm Central via Zoom, for a free screening and discussion of the film Starved: Our Food Insecurity Crises.
Following the half-hour film, knowledgeable speakers representing St Louis area food pantries, will address the issues. Robert Telthorst (Rob), director, and Sister Marie Orf, CPPS, associate director of St Anthony Food Pantry in South St Louis, will be joined by Andrew Diemer, executive director of the Wellston Center.
This documentary is a collaboration between WQED and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, with a goal to examine food insecurity as a societal problem, identify the causes, and introduce the people and organizations working to bring nutritious meals to the tables of those who need it. WQED, based in Pittsburgh, PA, was the nation’s first community-supported television station and went on the air on April 1, 1954.
According to the WQED website, “More than a million people in Pennsylvania are hungry because they cannot afford or do not have access to healthy food. Many others are unsure of how, or where they might get their next proper meal. For some, food insecurity is a matter of financial need. But often, entire communities are cut off from proper nutrition because there are no grocery stores nearby. These so-called “food deserts” are not the only challenge. Some neighborhoods have turned into “food swamps” – with a proliferation of fast-food restaurants and no healthy options.”
Speakers Rob and Sister Marie have first-hand knowledge gained through their work at St. Anthony Food Pantry in the Dutchtown neighborhood. Rob, who spent most of his professional career as an attorney, is in his 6th year as director. Sister Marie began her ministry to the pantry in 2010 after serving on leadership for her Precious Blood community for six years. Prior to that, she coordinated a food pantry and soup kitchen at St Vincent de Paul Parish in Chicago. According to the pantry website, stanthonyfoodpantrystl.org, the organization strives to end hunger and poverty on the Southside of St. Louis by providing nutritional food, personal care items, diapers and household items. “We assess the underlying causes of hunger and work for systemic change in keeping with Catholic Social-Economic Teachings. All people who seek assistance at the pantry are treated with dignity, compassion and respect.”
Andrew earned his Ph.D. in Education Policy and Equity from Saint Louis University, where his studies included understanding the spread of food insecurity in Missouri children. In 2024, he became Executive Director of the Wellston Center—a food pantry, thrift store, and social service hub in northern St Louis city. Learn more at wellstoncenter.org.