Weekend Cooking (16): Review and GIVEAWAY

RECLAIMING OUR FOOD
by Tanya Denckla Cobb
Photo Essays by Jason Houston

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

This impressive compendium of essays and photographs illustrates in both words and images how the grassroots local food movement is being implemented across the country in urban and rural areas alike.  Cobb debunks the notion that the local food movement is merely a pet project of the liberal elites by demonstrating how community gardens and farming are springing up to great effect in the poorest communities.

Before diving into this book I was familiar with the CSA cooperative model designed to facilitate buying food locally, but I had no idea of the variety of other initiatives currently in place to help individuals "reclaim" the foods they eat.  In addition to detailing the wide range of projects and their differing emphasis -- some focus on the food itself, some stress the benefits to the environment, and others use the initiative to strengthen a sense of community -- Reclaiming Our Food seeks to identify the nexus between these initiatives.  In that regard, Cobb offers the following:

The grassroots food movement seems to be arising from a common feeling that we have lost our center.  Across our nation, we see spiritual restlessness, children disconnected from nature and each other, a proliferation of foods that fail to nourish either body or spirit, and a lack of community, neighborliness, and relationship.  This book tells the story of people who are seeking to find a new center, to create meaning and purpose in their lives, to restore harmony and balance in their relationships with the land, food, and each other.
Food, as the sustenance of body, spirit, and culture, is a powerful change agent -- for better or worse.  At its worst, we've learned that daily fare that is highly processed, rich in calories but poor in the broad range of nutrients needed to maintain health, benefits the corporations that produce it, not the people who eat it.  Decades of this unmindful daily fare, and the resulting epidemics of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease, are now stressing our health-care system (not to mention our collective pocketbooks) and creating the dismal prospect that our children may lead shorter lives than their parents.
At its best, however, our daily fare can be a powerfully positive force for individual and community healing and health.  This is a core value of the grassroots food movement.  (7).

The volume is divided into eight chapters corresponding to the focus of the project and each chapter contains a collection of short essays, spotlighting unique programs in that area.  There are stories of organizations in urban centers promoting the raising of livestock, beekeeping, and wild food foraging.  One essay argues that community-based agriculture can and should be considered at the development stage of housing construction as a planned asset, rather than just an added afterthought that has to be shoe-horned into existing structures. Other chapters focus on educational initiatives in schools and local food projects that are designed to preserve cultural heritages.  In addition to the stories, Cobb includes a "lessons learned" section at the end of each essay, which gives simple, detailed, and practical advice for those who wish to launch similar programs in their community.

An essay that stayed with me spoke about the Seeds of Harmony, a city garden in Oregon located in a housing development that contained subsidized housing alongside luxury condominiums. The garden became the vehicle to allow residents to come together who might otherwise have never interacted. I was impressed by the description of the "kids section" that encourages the agricultural spirit in the younger generation, thus insuring a greater chance that the initiative will continue to flourish as the garden's creators move on.

Perhaps my favorite essay, though, was that regarding the Gateway Greening Project that was borne out of a desire to "green" the city of St. Louis. One facet of the project is the City Seeds Urban Farm, sandwiched between a freeway and a hotel in an urban area, whose workers are drawn in part from at-risk populations: substance abusers, those with criminal records, the mentally and the homeless, and unemployed veterans. Reading about how the garden provided job training, a sense of purpose, and a means to re-integrate into society, was inspiring.

In the interest of full disclosure, this is not the kind of book that I would sit and read from cover to cover.  Instead, I will read an essay or two at a time. To that end, I much appreciated the fact that none of the essays were particularly lengthy, thus making it very easy to pick up the book and put it down frequently. Some of the sections were frankly more of interest to me than others, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of the photographs, which vividly brought to life the various stories.

I heartily recommend this book to anyone committed to food/agricultural issues or those who would like to know how to do more to support the local foods movement. It would also make a great gift for those who like reading about  how individuals can make a difference in the communities in which they live.

Thanks to the generosity of Storey Publishing, I have one copy of Reclaiming Our Food to give away to one lucky reader of this blog. To enter, please leave a comment on this post indicating your desire to enter. Entries must contain an e-mail address, either in the comment, or by e-mailing me at Bookgirlblog@hotmail.com. Followers of this blog will receive an additional entry. Entries limited to US residents only. Book will be mailed by the publisher. Contest ends at 11:59 p.m. e.s.t. on December 22, 2011. Good luck!

I received a copy of Reclaiming Our Food from the publisher.

Weekend Cooking is a fun event hosted by Beth Fish Reads in which bloggers share food-related posts. Stop by and see what's cooking this week!