"Witnesses to Hunger" Displays Mothers' Photographic Testimony of Poverty in Philadelphia Exhibit

"Witnesses to Hunger" photos and videos show the first-hand perspectives of mothers living with hunger and poverty.

Working mothers, poverty and opportunity are powerful themes in the national political conversation. On May 2, a public exhibit will display photos and videos from women whose voices are too often missing from this dialogue: those who have experienced poverty and hunger first-hand. These “Witnesses to Hunger” are participants in a powerful research and advocacy project developed at the Drexel University School of Public Health. Many of the Witnesses will be present to provide personal commentary on their photos.

The exhibit is being held in conjunction with the first national conference on hunger and poverty, Beyond Hunger: Real People, Real Solutions, hosted by the Center for Hunger-Free Communities in Drexel’s School of Public Health.

Dr. Mariana Chilton , an associate professor at Drexel’s School of Public Health and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities, founded “Witnesses to Hunger” in 2008 with 40 women in Philadelphia. The program has since expanded to include women from across the United States, and continues to grow. Witnesses’ photographs, along with their stories and videos, have been exhibited throughout the country, offering living testimony to the need for legislation that eliminates poverty and hunger in the United States. Witnesses whose photographs are on display hail from across Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maryland.

 “These women are the real experts,” Chilton said. “They each have something to teach the world, and are not ashamed of what they have to say. They are fighting each day to provide for their children, and this was a way that we could give them a microphone to the world.”

The “Witnesses to Hunger” exhibit will be on display and open to the public from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel in Philadelphia, Ormandy Ballroom, as part of the opening reception to the Beyond Hunger conference. Conference registration is not required to attend the exhibit.

Beyond Hunger will bring together political leaders, advocates, journalists and experts in the field with those who are experiencing hunger first-hand for two days of sessions intended to reignite the national conversation about hunger and develop a groundbreaking Call to Action.