Are We There Yet? I'm Hungry will focus on affordability and availability of local food, and what the community can do about it. (Image courtesy of Max Rykov)

Birmingham is often in the national spotlight for its award-winning restaurants where local, fresh produce is the norm. But the city is also home to an abundance of food deserts, neighborhoods where access to fresh food is limited.

That discrepancy--and how Birmingham can address it--will be the focus of Thursday's "Are We There Yet? I'm Hungry" event at Continental Bakery Downtown. The show begins at 7 p.m. with a tongue-in-cheek etiquette lesson, and a portion of its $10 admission will benefit Magic City Agriculture Project. Max Rykov is producing the event in conjunction with Slow Food Birmingham, which emphasizes the value of local, non-processed food. It's the third such installment of the monthly talk show, which has previously focused on city priorities and arts.

Founder and host Rykov will facilitate a conversation between several major players in the local food scene: Cooking Light editor Hunter Lewis; Chez Lulu and Continental Bakery owner Carole Griffin; Magic City Agriculture Project Executive Director Rob Burton; WE Gardens director Ama Shambulia; and Magic City Sweet Ice co-owner Wani Scott Shaw.

The diversity of careers and neighborhoods, which span socioeconomic classes, is intentional, Rykov says.

"What happens a lot with conversations around food in the city is, often times, an all-white discussion," he says. "Birmingham is a 70 percent African-American city. I wanted to be conscious of having representation of people from all walks of life."

During Thursday's event, Rykov will interview each guest about his or her area of expertise, whether that's community gardens, restaurants or otherwise. From there, the panel will discuss how the community can work together to address food system inequality.

"It usually doesn't happen in Birmingham because again we're still a very segregated city, for one, and we don't like to talk about issues of wealth and inequality as a country, really," Rykov says.

In June, "Are We There Yet?" will focus on medical marijuana.

"Nothing is off the table," Rykov says, noting that his end goal is change: "(I hope) people will start paying attention and get engaged with the particular issue we're talking about, register to vote and make positive change happen."

DETAILS

Are We There Yet? I'm Hungry!

Produced in partnership with Slow Food Birmingham

May 28, 7 p.m.

Continental Bakery Downtown

$10