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The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food Audiobook
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(3.01) - 441 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Over the past several years, Hardwick, Vermont, a typical hardscrabble farming community of three thousand residents, has jump-started its economy and redefined its self-image through a local, self-sustaining food system unlike anything else in America. Even as the recent financial downturn threatens to cripple small businesses and privately owned farms, a stunning number of food-based businesses have grown in the region—Vermont Soy, Jasper Hill Farm, Pete’s Greens, Patchwork Farm & Bakery, Applecheek Farm, Claire’s Restaurant and Bar, and Bonnieview Farm, to name only a few. The mostly young entrepreneurs have created a network of community support, meeting regularly to share advice, equipment, and business plans and to loan each other capital. Hardwick is fast becoming a model for other communities hoping to replicate its success.
Hewitt, a journalist and Vermonter, delves deeply into the repercussions of this groundbreaking approach to growing food, both its astounding successes and potential limitations. The captivating story of a small town coming back to life, The Town That Food Saved is narrative nonfiction at its best, full of colorful characters and grounded in an idea that will revolutionize the way we eat.
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"A story about Hardwick Vermont where the aging 70's back-to-the-landers clash with a new breed of agripreneurs who are creating a new, smaller, more local food economy in an area not unlike where I live in Maine. Hewitt deals with the need to blend these co-existing groups and while he does not come to a clear conclusion because this new food economy is a work in progress everywhere, he does a good job of visiting and describing the varying outlooks on the Vermont farm economy."
— Donna (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“A pleasurable, almost gossipy read.”
— San Francisco Chronicle -
“This is a smart and lovely book about a smart and lovely experiment.”
— Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy -
“Adroitly balancing professional neutrality with personal commitment, Hewitt engagingly examines this paradigm shift in the way a community feeds its citizens.”
— Booklist -
“The literary tone and humor make this book more accessible and entertaining.”
— School Library Journal -
“Narrator Arthur Morey recounts the writer’s journeys to inspect small operations that exemplify the parochial shift. His quiet voice fits the demeanor of the message, written in first person, by the tranquil reporter. Meeting the farmers in many interviews gives listeners an intimate portrait of the commitment and emotions behind this remedy for the nation’s dwindling food supply.”
— AudioFile -
“Audie-nominated narrator Arthur Morey, with a clean, well-paced reading, sounds very much the way listeners might imagine Vermont resident and farmer Hewitt sounds. He makes this important work most accessible and entertaining.”
— SoundCommentary.com
The Town That Food Saved Listener Reviews
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" I couldn't finish the book--I bailed out around page 60. The writing was just not good. The story would have been better as a long magazine article (stories about Hardwick, VT have been published in Gourmet and Eating Well). Better books have been written about local food vs. Big Agriculture. Get one of those instead of this. "
— Jenny, 2/3/2014 -
" Interesting and food for thought (no pun intended) about the whole locavore movement. I was especially intrigued to learn that the University of Maine has a School of Compost ... for real, not the kind of compost you might be thinking :) "
— Jennifer, 1/31/2014 -
" meh. The town hasn't been saved yet, so the title is a bit misleading and the format is a bit tough to get into. "
— Lisa, 1/30/2014 -
" An interesting story, I enjoyed reading the Hardwick's story and hearing (literally, I listened to the audio book of this) about the small agricultural businesses and their ethics. Unfortunately, the author tries far too hard to be clever, which distracts from the story at almost every turn. "
— Melissa, 1/26/2014 -
" The book had far too much of the ol' Passive Aggressive Airing of Grievances for my taste. I'm amazed that he would speak in such patronizing terms about folks who live in his community. Despite his many (many, many, oh god so damned many) cheap, irrelevant shots at "characters" in this tale, he does a fairly decent job of detailing just how complicated this whole notion of local food systems truly is. Had he laid off the passive aggressive crap and stuck to the complications, both positive and negative, of creating a vibrant local food system and economy, it would have been a much better read. "
— Aldra, 1/25/2014 -
" Interesting book with small town feel and draw - I enjoyed reminiscing about my childhood. Brings some valid points to the table to say the least however felt a bit too hypothetical and heady for me at times. Overall pretty good ride. "
— Virginia, 1/17/2014 -
" This story needed a different storyteller. The author is so caught up in himself and big egos like his, he misses the real story: how we can create vibrant community in the local but larger than a circle of neighbors kind of way. Bad bookclub choice. "
— Caroljean, 12/15/2013 -
" Interesting book about a small town in Vermont and the local food movement. If you liked Food Inc. or Omnivore's Dilemma, you'll enjoy this one. A quick afternoon read. "
— Kim, 11/25/2013 -
" Never knew any of this! Mostly stuff you already know but never hurts to be reminded of, just to get you to try a little harder to live sustainably. The fact that it is a town in VT makes it hit home all the more. Some interesting characters. Little on the dry side at times. "
— Marieke, 10/18/2013 -
" A great book about the power of food and small town community. "
— Josh, 4/15/2013 -
" This book addresses a lot of the contradictions in the local food movement I feel that others ignore,and it's the funniest non-fiction I have read in a long time. "
— Jeanie, 10/11/2012 -
" Read the first half. It's well written, but it falls into that class of books by journalists that repeat everything twice. "
— Junio, 9/12/2012 -
" This is a fascinating look at farming, local food, and agrepreneurs in Hardwick, a small (population: 3,200) town in Vermont. "
— Karen, 8/4/2012 -
" can't wait to visit Craftsbury! "
— Lynne, 1/4/2012 -
" Do I get a "read" if I got within 25 pages of the end? I just can't pick it up again...maybe later, but it needs to come off this list now. Good book, Ben! "
— Cfgk, 6/25/2011 -
" An interesting story, I enjoyed reading the Hardwick's story and hearing (literally, I listened to the audio book of this) about the small agricultural businesses and their ethics. Unfortunately, the author tries far too hard to be clever, which distracts from the story at almost every turn. "
— Melissa, 6/21/2011 -
" Interesting and food for thought (no pun intended) about the whole locavore movement. I was especially intrigued to learn that the University of Maine has a School of Compost ... for real, not the kind of compost you might be thinking :) "
— Jennifer, 5/19/2011 -
" A great book about the power of food and small town community. "
— Josh, 5/4/2011 -
" This story needed a different storyteller. The author is so caught up in himself and big egos like his, he misses the real story: how we can create vibrant community in the local but larger than a circle of neighbors kind of way. Bad bookclub choice. "
— Caroljean, 4/28/2011 -
" great "food" for thought...presents many sides to the local food system.... "
— Louise, 12/14/2010
About Ben Hewitt
Ben Hewitt was born in northwestern Vermont and raised in a two-room cabin. He now lives with his wife and two sons on a diversified, forty-acre farm in Vermont where they produce dairy, beef, pork, lamb, vegetables, and berries. His work has appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers, including Best Life, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Adventure, New York Times Magazine, Outside, and Skiing.
About Arthur Morey
Arthur Morey has won three AudioFile Magazine “Best Of” Awards, and his work has garnered numerous AudioFile Earphones Awards and placed him as a finalist for two Audie Awards. He has acted in a number of productions, both off Broadway in New York and off Loop in Chicago. He graduated from Harvard and did graduate work at the University of Chicago. He has won awards for his fiction and drama, worked as an editor with several book publishers, and taught literature and writing at Northwestern University. His plays and songs have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Milan, where he has also performed.