People often think that their actions won’t make a difference to others in their community. We wanted to spotlight the power of one individual to make change in their corner of the world. This is the powerful story of one person who wanted to connect a generation of children, most living in poverty, with the native foods their ancestors were raised on. In addition, we wanted to show the nuance and variety of food insecurity in our country to help potential donors and sponsors see that it is not a one size fits all solution.
Food insecurity is poorly understood in the United States. We were looking for diverse stories of how Save the Children partnered with local organizations and individuals to tackle this challenge for children. We supported Bidii Baby Foods with funding to help ensure the project made it out into the world. We then wanted to share the process of how the food was made and how it helped children see their native American culture in their food. While filming, we were more inspired by the founders ability to make a big difference in their community. That is where the inspiring title of BE THE THEY came from; their reluctance to rely on others to make a difference. So the film became about inspiration, as much as it was about local foods. Creating a role model for future community change makers.
The film was just completed so there are no hard metrics regarding success. It is internally successful though as groups from brand to fundraising to corporate partners have all incorporated it loyalty and prospecting communications.
