The Town That Food Saved initially sounds like some pie-in-the-sky, feel-good movie airing on a local television station during a nap-filled Sunday afternoon. Local food is the hero, sweeping in to rescue some down-in-the-dumps town full of aging subsistence-level farms and boarded-up granite mines. Inspiring? Sure. Realistic? No. Thankfully, that’s not the story the book actually portrays.

Instead we see a complex narrative unfold concerning the small town, Hardwick, Vermont — a narrative not fraught with easy answers, but which explores the real life ins-and-outs of a growing local food economy.

The author, Ben Hewitt, sets out to document the emerging local food movement in Hardwick. Unlike many small towns, Hardwick has the makings of an entirely self-sufficient food system in their local community. But in the middle of attempting to document the quirky and visionary locals who are making it all happen, he’s caught up in the tension between these sustainable food heroes and the townsfolk who are quite skeptical of all that’s going on and the claims being made. Hewitt does an excellent job giving all these people a voice.

He also attempts to tackle, on a minor scale, the problems with the industrialized food model while simultaneously holding up Hardwick as an example of the kind of alternative that might just work (or at least is well on its way to working). Perhaps the best thing about Hewitt’s treatment of the subject is that he isn’t looking at it with rose-colored glasses. He asks the hard questions about the scalability and accessibility of local foods that many enthusiasts dismiss or ignore. And he doesn’t have answers. I appreciate that.

Win A Copy Of The Town That Food Saved

Every so often, publishers send me books to review. This time, the publisher sent me not one, but two copies of the book. Needless to say, I’m keeping one for myself! But the rest of you are welcome to vie for a chance to win the other copy.

How To Enter

The first step, which everyone must do, is to leave a comment below saying “I want a copy of The Town That Food Saved!”. If you don’t do this, you will not be entered in the contest!

Next, you may do any or all of the following for additional chances to win.

1. Blog about this giveaway and link back to this page on your blog. Comment below with the link. (1 extra entry)

2. Sign up for my email updates or RSS feed. Leave a comment below telling me that you signed up. You will also get an entry if you already subscribe — be sure to leave a comment! (1 extra entry)

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway. Be sure to include the URL to this page in your tweet. Click the TweetThis button at the bottom of the post, or you can use the following tweet: “I’ve signed up to win a copy of The Town That Food Saved from @foodrenegade (AND INCLUDE THE URL)” Leave a comment telling me that you followed & tweeted. (1 extra entry)

4. Email 5 friends about the giveaway, with a link to this page. Leave a comment below telling me that you did. (1 extra entry)

5. Stumble this post and leave me a comment telling me that you did. (1 extra entry)

There are a total of 6 possible entries!

Questions? Comment below.

This contest will end Sunday, June 6th at 11:59 PM CST. The winner will be chosen via random.org, and will be announced on Monday, June 7th. The lucky winner will have 48 hours to contact me with his or her full name and email address.

Good luck, everybody!

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5. WINNER: The Town That Food Saved