The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food

New author Ben Hewitt achieves something special with "The Town that Food Saved". This quick and humorous read goes beyond Pollan's analysis of local vs. industrial agriculture and introduces us to the rich and intimate territory of one small Vermont community's growing pains as it shifts to a more localized food system. Hewitt's heros are both the native Vermonters and the new kids (agriprenuers) in town. What they share is a love of their land, a commitment to protecting it, and an addiction to eating well. He begins the conversation thats aching to be had. How does a rural population with historic division find unity and strength in economically and ecologically challenging times? The answer is in the title. Hewitt, like Gene Logsdon, refreshingly brings farming credentials to the food debate that gives an experienced voice to the talk about local. More power to him.

Locally raised and produced food is a hot topic, but much of what has been written about it is either hopelessly theoretical and preachy, or too personalized to be of much use (i.e., "I grew an amazing tomato and connected with the soul of my dead grandmother"). Mr. Hewitt starts from the premise that local food is better food, and some might fault him for that. But if you are in general agreement, then this book is a welcome examination of whether food can be raised, processed, and marketed locally in a way that benefits the entire community. The author thinks it can, and he makes his case through the stories of the individuals in an unlikely rural town who somehow came together to start a small, yet significant, revolution of sorts. Will it last? Can it be replicated elsewhere? These questions are, as yet, unanswered. Nonetheless, the success of Hardwick to date makes a fascinating case study, and a very engaging read. An additional bonus: Mr. Hewitt writes with a real wit and economy of style.

I adore Ben Hewitt's book, yet as other reviewers have mentioned...detest the title. The grandiose "town that food saved" is a WIP (work in progress) as Mr. Hewitt admits himself that most of the "locals" in Harwick Vermont are not able to benefit from the inspiring (and steadily growing) organic food movement blossoming in their home town. Even so, he paints an encouraging view of what an emerging small town local foods movement looks like (both pro & con) and delves with deep inquiry into the various "characters" that are playing the leading roles in rejuvenating this forgotton town into a vibrant (if not trendy~oh my!) locally driven economy. Mr. Hewitt's homespun humor is greatly appreciated throughout his colorful descriptions of the town, it's people, and the Vermont "mentality" which is of utmost consideration in the treatment of the subject. If you're in say...California, your mileage would most certainly vary on what moves & motivates the locals on the West coast rather than the East. That being said, enjoy it for what it is....a "dried up" town that once relied on the granite industry (where the average resident makes $15,000 per year or less) has found a new identity...one that is respectful of the land, offers new opportunity as well as better wages, and fits with an independent minded ethos which is currently gaining new popularity thanks to the current economy. "Agrapreneurs" awaken! If you love local food, you'll love this book. Even if you don't, it's a bright spot on the horizon of our future and the future of healthy food being made accessible to everyone regardless of status & income. A fun, yet informative read... The title should be: Hardwick, Vermont: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food

Based on the description of this book, I kind of assumed that author Ben Hewitt was a local food zealot deeply involved in whatever it is that's going on in the "town" of the title, and that it would therefore be a self-congratulatory memoir, more than a careful look at anything. I was wrong. While Hewitt is a proponent of local food and a (very) small-scale subsistence farmer living just a few miles from Hardwick, Vermont, this book is thoughtful, well-researched, and almost stunningly well-written. I read it in less than 24 hours, captivated not quite as much by the story as by the writing. It's delightful, and worth reading for that reason alone. That said, the story is pretty captivating, too, but it's a blueprint of how to save a town with food in the same way that John McPhee's "Oranges" is about how to grow oranges. (The writing, btw, reminded me a bit of McPhee.) This is an insightful look into a town and the folks who populate it -- some "agripreneurs", some traditional famers, some true radicals, some completely indifferent. It seeks less to see Hardwick as emblematic of what should be done everywhere than it does to tease out some of the complications with local food that many of its advocates gloss over. Another reviewer slams this book as being a hippie socialist manifesto. I couldn't disagree more. Hewitt explores that side of the local food movement, but ultimately rejects it, coming out in favor of a very capitalistic view of the whole thing. Sure, this whole thing is about evaluating costs other than those that appear on this year's balance sheet, but it's certainly not about doing away with a market-based system. I'm tempted to wonder if that reviewer actually read the book. Of course this book made me want to buy a few acres somewhere and live off the grid growing my own food, but more than that it made me think -- really think -- about reasonable scale and the importance of pulling local food down from its elite and expensive status. Hewitt is quite clear that Hardwick has not answered the questions surrounding these issues, and I think that's what's most compelling about the narrative. It's the first local food book I've read that bothers to ask the hard questions, rather than just asserting that if everyone bought local all the time all the world's problems would be solved. Okay, okay, maybe they're not all that simplistic, but I don't see Pollan addressing these problems, whether they're inherent in the model or just transitional. The one thing Hewitt doesn't talk about much are the ways the government gets in the way of many local food endeavors. I suspect that many of the folks he describes had to deal with some significant red tape to do what they're doing, but he never mentions that. Once he mentions that the local co-op can't sell raw milk, though the farmers can sell it directly to consumers, but he doesn't explain that one of the problems with really decentralizing our food system are the laws that prohibit me f