Relishments

Savoring life in the Berkshires

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • About
    • Start Here
    • Relishments Around the Web
    • Flexitarianism
      • Cookbooks
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Reviews
  • The Berkshires
    • Boothbay, Midcoast Maine and More
    • Adventures in Other Places
  • Contact
    • Sponsor

“The Town That Food Saved”

Published on June 17, 2010 By Emily. Updated on July 7, 2013

Last night I had the exciting opportunity to listen to farmer and author Ben Hewitt speak.  Ben is the author of The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food. After all the press the book’s been getting (see below), I was surprised he was coming to the Berkshires.  I was also thrilled.  The turn out was really great, as it has been at all the northern Berkshire food events I’ve attended.

Ben’s book, which I haven’t actually read yet, is about Hardwick, Vermont.  Hardwick, down on it’s luck, is undergoing a bit of a rejuvenation centered around the creation and growth of “agri-preneurial” businesses (as in, agriculturally based entrepreneurial).   I sat there like a dork, taking notes.  Something about being in the presence of a published author always brings out the nerd in me.  Ben read 2 passages from his book, then fielded questions from the audience.

Ben noted (reading from the book and quoting one of the characters), that “We can export a lot of things but I think our main gift will be inspiration”. The goal of the book is not to serve as a blueprint for other communities, but to inspire them to create their own healthy food system that works for them.  Hardwick isn’t perfect and still has a long way to go, but jobs have been created and the downtown area is coming back to life.

The discussion that followed the reading made clear one of Ben’s points: the local food movement (and food movements in general) are tricky things; “its easy to get caught up in the excitement about what’s happening, but some people feel threatened by it”.  Farms are businesses and it’s difficult to maintain the line between good business practices, helping the community and making a good profit.  I often oversimplify the issues (“it’d be great if we all ate local!”) and forget the many aspects of food systems.  It was so good to be in a room full of people who, regardless of their individual ideals, want to improve things.  I was reminded, once again, of how strange it is that the products we are most price sensitive to are the things that we need most (food, milk, gasoline); why is it that I’m still so willing to buy cheap food when I know what the real cost is?

Final thought of encouragement from Ben: the closer we can bring people to the soil, the more resilient and sustainable our food system will be.  Clearly, the system we have now has a lot of issues.  It was so good to be reminded again that we all vote with our dollars and have the ability to cause change.  The event organizers promised that the discussion of how local food could change the Berkshires will continue and I’m very much looking forward to it.

I’m also looking forward to school being out for the summer tomorrow so I can read the book.

The Town that Food Saved coverage:

Serious Reads: The Town That Food Saved, by Ben Hewitt (Serious Eats)

Podcast: A close look at the “town that food saved” (Grist)

Frontlines of a food revolution (Los Angeles Times)

Local Food Saves the Day (Boston Globe)

In Rural Vermont, From Famine to Fork (The Atlantic; also posted on Politics of the Plate)

The Town that Food Saved (Plate to Plate–my favorite new –to me– local blog)

The Town that Food Saved (Gourmet) – a 2008 article by Ben Hewitt which explains the changes occurring in Harwick

Related Posts

Garlic and Herb Festival, Take 2
Tyler and Pine Bakery – donuts and more in t...
Vacation Is My Best Excuse
Stay Cool at Ayelada Frozen Yogurt in Pittsfield
Did you enjoy this post? Share it!

Filed Under: books, events Tagged With: Berkshires, books, local, Massachusetts

« Adventures in Bread Baking: Wheat Sun-dried Tomato No-Time Bread & Olive Bread
Highlights: Father’s Day »

Comments

  1. Rache Wilkerson says

    June 18, 2010 at 5:30 pm

    Very cool that you got to hear him speak! I really need to get this book. *sigh* Another one to add to the list!!

Welcome!

photo of EmilyWelcome to Relishments! Follow along with my adventures in cooking and eating in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.

The Berkshires
Recipe Index
CSA Menu Plan
First Time?
 

Support Relishments on Patreon

Just so you know…

I’m just a girl who loves to cook and eat. This site is not a source for nutritional information.

Relishments is affiliated with various sponsors. Some product links on this site are affiliates; I may get portion of the sale. All opinions on this site are honest, regardless of revenue opportunities. Find out more about my policies here

relishments

Emily
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
- House Fries with Garlic Aioli
- Fried Chickpeas
- Blood Orange Cheesecake
It was no surprise that Public was close to full on a Wednesday night - everything was so good. 

.
.
.
#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
.
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
.
.
.
#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post. It's It's not New Year's Eve without a Top 9 post.
It's almost all #Berkshires content this year, which is great.
1. A pasta salad reel that took longer to create than the recipe took to make.
2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
4.@plantconnector 
5. @berkshiremuseum 
6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
9. The #AshuwillticookRailTrail
New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
.
.
.
https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
.
#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
.
.
.
Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
.
.
.
#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
.
.
.
#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
It has been a while, but there is finally a new CS It has been a while, but there is finally a new CSA menu plan on the blog! Visit the link below or in my profile to see how I plan to make use of some of the @mightyfoodfarm produce seen here.
.
.
https://www.relishments.com/blog/welcome-to-winter-farm-share-csa-menu-plan-148/
.
#MightyFoodFarm #EatLocal #EatSeasonal #VermontGrown #CSApickup #CSAshare #KnowYourFarmerKnowYourFood #MenuPlanning #MealPlanning #igers413 #igers413_food #BerkshireFoodies
Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
Check out the last slide for video of some feathered friends we saw on a walk.
.
.
.
#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #FallFoliage #FallColors #autumn #AshuwillticookRailTrail #JaeschkeOrchards #GreylockGlen
@freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favo @freshgrassfestival continues to be one of my favorite events each year, and it doesn't hurt that it's just minutes away from home. Enjoying the festival with my kids is definitely a different experience than without, but it's still a good time. The weather was especially cooperative today which was great for all the laps I did around the @massmoca campus pushing a stroller. I'm already looking forward to next year.
.
.
.
#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #FreshGrass #FreshGrassFestival #MassMoCA #MusicFestival
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Foodie Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in