‘Just Getting By’ screens in Weston, Chester Community potluck in Chester precedes documentary

A new documentary film by Bess O’Brien, Just Getting By, is a sweeping, yet intimate, look at the lives of low-income Vermonters who are struggling with food and housing insecurity.

Two free screenings will be held this week.

• The first,  sponsored by Neighborhood Connections, will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 8 at Walker Farm, 705 Main St. in Weston.
• The second, sponsored by the Whiting Library, will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 10 at Chester Town Hall, 556 Elm St. After the film, director Bess O’Brien will lead a question-and-answer session. Preceding the film at 6 p.m., Whiting Library will host a free potluck community meal. Although everyone is invited to bring something to share, it is not a requirement for participation.

Vermont has the fourth-highest rate of homeless people in the United States, and one third of Vermonters struggle to put food on the table.

The film tells the stories of working families, folks who are homeless and accessing food shelves and soup kitchens and of people who are living in temporary hotel/motel programs. In addition, it focuses on New Americans grappling with the cost of living in the United States, native people creating innovative farming practices and folks on the ground providing services to their fellow Vermonters in need.

The Chester screening is part of Whiting Library’s Vermont Reads programming. This year, Vermonters have been reading and discussing the book Gather by Ken Cadow, which deals with themes of rural life, resilience, class differences, addiction and recovery, housing and food insecurity, a deep relationship to the land and the power of community. Free books are available at Whiting Library, 117 Main St. in Chester.

For more information about the meal or film screening, please call Gail Zachariah at 802-875-2277 or send an e-mail.