The OHS Food Club hosted a community potluck and screening of the documentary “Fed Up” on Feb. 23 at the Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture offices.

“We met up at the office to watch the movie ‘Fed Up,’ and a few members brought food for the potluck,” Anna Takerer, a junior and Food Club board member, said. “We enjoy cooking and sharing food, so we met in a public place for free and watched a movie together.”

The group included 18 students and five adults from the high school and from the Mississippi Sustainable Agriculture offices.

“We had a lot more people show up than I thought we would,” junior and Food Club board member Virginia Parkinson said. “You could really tell that people were interested in the movie. I appreciated everyone coming.”

The students discussed the film while eating the various foods brought by everyone for the potluck. The discussion did not continue after the film due to inclement weather.

The documentary “Fed Up” investigates how the American food industry may be the cause for more sicknesses than previously believed.

“The movie was to inform us about all the health problems in our society’s food industry,” sophomore Madison Casio said.

The students were able to learn different ways that the food industry has affected American health.

“On the food items, you could usually see the percentage of sugar. Now you can’t. You can only see the grams it contains,” sophomore Abigail Rodriguez said.

The film also described how school lunches affect childhood obesity and how to fix the issue.

“I thought it was going to show more of what it is in food, but it was more childhood obesity and how to fix it and why it is happening in the food industry,” Parkinson said. “It helped reaffirm why we have Food Club here and why it is important to me, as a person, to have fresher food and not support processed food.”

The event was posted on several pages through Schoology for anyone interested in spending their Tuesday night learning about Food Club and the food industry.

“The fact that teenagers would choose to spend an evening cooking, come together over a meal, and watch an informational film just goes to show how incredible students at OHS are and how lucky we are to have them as active and informed participants in our halls and community,” Food Club sponsor Shaundi Wall said.