A new documentary explores the creation of Akron’s Longest Table, and, as organizer Kate Tucker said, shows “a community coming together when everything is falling apart.”
“Everybody Eats: Akron’s Longest Table” will premiere on YouTube on Thursday at 8 p.m. The nine-minute documentary was produced by OTHRWRLD, a New York-based creative production studio, in partnership with Civic Saturday Akron.
The documentary will be screened at the next Civic Saturday Akron on Oct. 31.
Inspired by similar events in New York, the goal of Akron’s Longest Table was simple but ambitious: to encourage people to get to know others in their community and to discuss the challenges around food access and inequity in Akron — all over a shared meal.
Despite unpleasant weather, Tucker said 300 people gathered downtown on a chilly Saturday in April for the free community potluck. The event was organized by Civic Saturday Akron, the organization Tucker co-founded in 2024.
“Let’s make this about access, and let’s talk about food apartheid, and let’s create an experience where people can actually engage with those challenges and find a way to have a conversation around [them] that would be productive,” Tucker said, “beyond just the community gathering and the sense of belonging that it would foster.”
Nearly 15 percent of individuals and 20 percent of children in Summit County are food insecure, according to the Akron-Canton Regional Food Bank. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines food insecurity as “limited or uncertain access to adequate food.” In layman’s terms, this means people do not have enough food to eat and are unsure where their next meal will come from.
Akron’s Longest Table highlights issues of food accessibility
Organizers began planning Akron’s Longest Table in January. Around that time, Tucker started working for OTHRWRLD as the vice president of branding and original content. When given the opportunity to pitch stories for the company, she suggested Akron’s Longest Table.
“My goal was to show Akron a story that is ours and that is something to be proud of and something to celebrate,” she said. “And show other cities and show our country what can happen in a city that is often overlooked at best, and arguably under-resourced.”
The documentary opens with a voiceover from Imokhai Okolo, a lawyer and community organizer.
“No one’s coming to save us. No one’s coming to save us from our problems,” he said. The implication is clear: Akron must save itself.
Okolo is the founder of People Feeding People, a free local mobile grocery distribution program. On the morning of Akron’s Longest Table, the group hosted a pop-up grocery store at the nearby Mayflower Manor Apartments. Afterwards, they invited volunteers and Mayflower residents to the community meal.
“I think breaking bread with people is such a great way to develop relationships, such a great way to build community,” Okolo said. “At the same time, it allows us to really highlight the issues that we have in our community around food, around food access — around who has access, who doesn’t have access.”
Tucker said an Akron premiere prior to Civic Saturday Akron might happen. She is also working on setting up screenings at libraries and community centers across the country.
“If it can happen here, it can happen anywhere,” Tucker said of Akron’s Longest Table. “It’s also a very, in my opinion, special and unique community that’s in the midst of creating a civic renewal against the odds. So that’s something that we need to see these days, especially.”
Watch a preview of “Everybody Eats: Akron’s Longest Table”:
