Reclaiming Our Food tells the stories of people across the United States who are finding new ways to grow, process, and distribute food for their own communities. Discover how abandoned urban lots have been turned into productive organic farms, how a family-run sustainable fish farm can stay local and be profitable, and how engaged communities are bringing fresh produce into school cafeterias. Through photographic essays and interviews with innovative food leaders, you'll be inspired to get involved and help cultivate your own local food economy. This book offers sustainable food solutions by sharing the stories of more than 50 groups and individuals across the U.S. who have successfully implemented innovative ideas for increasing the availability of local food.
Tanya Denckla Cobb is a writer, a professional environmental mediator at the Institute for Environmental Negotiation, and a teacher of food system planning at the University of Virginia. She is passionate about bringing people together to find common ground and create solutions for mutual gain. She co-founded a community forestry nonprofit organization, served as Executive Director of the Virginia Urban Forest Council, and facilitated the birth of the Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute and the Virginia Food System Council. At home, she enjoys the restorative energy of gardening and cooking from her garden. She lives in Virginia and is the author of Reclaiming Our Food and The Gardener's A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food. Foreword
Food and Community: Growing a Grassroots Movement
1: Food from Home: Supporting Backyard Gardeners
2: Community: Coming Together around Food
3: Urban Farming: Growing Food in the City
4: Empowerment: Food Movements in At-Risk Communities
5: Education: Food, Nutrition, and Agriculture in Schools
6: Food Heritage: Preserving Cultural Identities
7: Sustainability: Food for the Long Term
8: Infrastructure: Building Local Food Networks
Notes
Acknowledgments
Resources
Contributors
Index
Join the Revolution!
All across the country, Americans are demanding more fresh, local foods--at home, in their schools, in restaurants, and at food markets. Community food projects from Boston to Nashville to Birmingham to Seattle are rising to meet this need. Led by innovative, creative people from all walks of life, these projects are strengthening communities by creating valuable jobs, preserving cultural traditions, building local knowledge about growing food, and educating schoolchildren. Inspirational stories of nearly 60 grassroots food programs provide hundreds of useful "lessons learned," offering an enduring handbook for everyone hoping to join the movement.
"The reason I use Reclaiming Our Food is because it has the same lush, visual appeal as many of the current coffee table books, but unlike so many of those books, it is so much more than a few stories with a bit of text about the ails of our food system. Instead, this book goes far deeper, profiling both prominent and little-known food activists, farmers, and gardeners, and drawing out key lessons from these profiles. Readers are drawn in by the photos and the stories told about farms, gardens and more, but they are challenged to think about the broader meaning of these case studies, as well. I find that students who are unfamiliar with the food movement are amazed to discovery the diversity of people and programs around the country; students who are already on fire about food will be challenged to reflect on the weaknesses and obstacles that are also presented. No knee-jerk rah-rah polemic, this book would help anyone fall in love with the food renaissance. " After finishing this immersive, inspiring, and educational book, readers will feel empowered to address the food systems in their lives and encourage a more responsible approach to consumption and production.-Charlie Jackson, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Proj
