Local food movement in Vermont becomes model for success

The food crisis is looming large both in this country and around the world affecting our health and our very survival. Ben Hewitt promotes the idea of local sustenance, sustainable agriculture and community in this inspirational book, The Town that Food Saved : How One Community found Vitality in Local Food.  His home in Hardwick, Vermont is the setting for his book which has received much national attention.

The following is a review from Publisher's Weekly, February 2010. " Through the last decade the Northern Vermont town of Hardwick, population 3200, gradually evolved into a nationally respected source of 'local food' and  began to reap benefits. Hewitt, an area resident and family farmer, previously wrote about the area as a potential example of localized agriculture and economics, especially for a population whose residents' median income was below state average. But curiosity and healthy skepticism, along with his own investment, spurred him to this deeper investigation into the local personalities (and characters) driving the movement, and to observe, participate and reflect upon such odiferous activities as pig slaughtering. The resulting blend of analysis and reflection highlights the possibilities and perils of what Hewitt argues will impact the agricultural and economic future for better of worse."

-DB