Lifeline: Hunger Relief During the Pandemic by Tom Simon

This exhibition originally appeared on the website of The ArtsCenter, an arts education non-profit located in Carrboro, NC. It appears here as part of the 2021 NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference with permission of the photographer.

Artist Bio — Tom Simon

I’ve been a storyteller my entire life. As a boy I recorded the world around me with a still camera and a tape recorder. My professional career was primarily in film and television. I was mentored by legendary documentarians, the Maysles brothers, who believed the best stories were character-driven and totally true to life. After that I went to work for National Geographic serving as Exec Producer of the Nat Geo Specials on PBS and VP of Programming and Production.

I returned to hands-on filmmaking establishing Working Dog Productions just north of NYC. For over fifteen years our team produced dozens of series and specials for HBO, PBS, A&E, National Geographic, The History Channel, The Food Network and others. Our program genres included investigative journalism, natural history, biography, true crime and cooking.

Since moving to Chapel Hill several years ago I’ve come full circle, returning to still work with an emphasis on documentary projects and street photography. I love the simplicity of working alone, with just my camera and the people I meet along the way. Rather than trying to draw out their stories as I did as a filmmaker, I aim to capture a moment in time and let their image give them voice.

Tom Simon Photography website

Tom Simon on Instagram

Project Description

In March of 2020 as COVID-19 begins to rage across the country, the economy is crippled and massive shutdowns occur. Millions lose their jobs and food insecurity skyrockets. Local governments and NGO’s organize drive-thru food distributions. Hunger-relief groups devise new ways to reach their recipients while trying to keep everyone safe.

As I photographed this effort across North Carolina’s Triangle region, I began to see it as a human chain that starts with farmers, food service workers, donors, volunteers and so many more. It reaches all the way to the table of those who are hungry. Who are the people who make up this chain – this Lifeline – that’s stretched so thin during the pandemic?

What I found was an abundant sense of community, compassion and a mission to help those in need. In the recipients there is gratitude, pride and a resolve to keep themselves and their families whole in the face of a crisis that seems to have no end. Above all, I’ve been inspired and invigorated by the humanity on display.