Over the past few years, Hardwick, Vermont, a typical hardscrabble farming community of 3,000 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. The Town That Food Saved is
rich with appealing, colorful characters, from the optimistic upstarts creating a new agricultural model to the
long-established farmers wary of the rapid change in the region.
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 an unassuming community
and its extraordinary determination to build a vibrant local food system, The Town That Food Saved is grounded
in ideas that will revolutionize the way we eat and, quite possibly, the way we live.