Food for Thought: Neighbor by Neighbor August 20, 2009

This month's feature is the documentary Neighbor by Neighbor, followed by a Q & A panel with the director, Craig Saddlemire.

In the summer of 2004, the Mayor of Lewiston, Maine announced a plan to develop a four-lane boulevard across downtown’s low-income neighborhood. The project was going to displace 850 people from their homes as well as destroy playgrounds, vegetable gardens, and historic buildings. As tragic as the circumstances were, the threat of a road destroying the neighborhood required residents to rise to the challenge of becoming community organizers and resist the city's plan. Neighbor by Neighbor documents 5 years of development and community organizing in Lewiston, Maine. It reveals the strategies, the mistakes, the prejudices, the lessons… all of the difficult stuff that makes up the political process – the act of making decisions and setting policy together.

Food For Thought is a monthly evening of food, film and discussion with a focus on films of social, political, environmental and community interest. Held on the third Thursday of each month, the night will feature food samples by Honest Weight Food Co-op, a feature film screening, and an open panel discussion.

Official Website: http://www.wamcarts.org/artsched.html