On a cold winter day, two chickens cooped in junior AJ Spitz’s backyard chirp and coo while Spitz tosses them food.

The chickens, Nigel and Roscoe, play a big part in a new documentary, Food Patriots, directed by Spitz’s dad, Jeffrey Spitz. The film has been advertised to be shown in various Midwestern cities including Crystal Lake, Ill. and Madison, Wis.

“It’s about getting chickens and starting to make changes in our families toward fresh, local and healthy food,” said AJ Spitz’s mom, Jennifer Amdur Spitz.

The film is about looking for inspiration in other places besides the Spitz’s home. According to Amdur Spitz, it also focuses on people who are doing really incredible things to educate the community and create healthier food.

The family is trying to make a “10 percent change” in what they eat, and the movie attempts to inspire others to do so as well.

“Our whole thing is to not make it burdensome,” said Amdur Spitz. “The idea of changing everything you eat is overwhelming. A good approach is a 10 percent change…in what we buy and eat. More fresh, more local, more organic.”

The Spitzes decided to get the chickens when they realized they were eating too many processed, packaged foods, said Amdur Spitz.

“Whole foods that come from the earth [are] what [people are] meant to eat,” said Amdur Spitz. “I wanted to kind of create more interest in thinking about where [my family’s] food came from so that they’d be more conscious of what they put in their bodies.”

Jeffrey Spitz decided that making a film was one way he could help with the family’s effort.

“That was his way of contributing, by following us around with a camera,” said Amdur Spitz.

According to AJ Spitz, Food Patriots will be available to view at select film festivals in six months to a year. More information can be found at (www.foodpatriots.com).