Relationship networks are the key to strong local food economies

Abstract

Review of Building Community Food Webs, by Ken Meter. (2021). Published by Island Press. Available as paperback and eBook; 304 pages. Publisher’s website, which includes a study guide: https://islandpress.org/books/building-community-food-webs

First paragraph:

Many readers of this journal are familiar with Ken Meter,[1] whose five decades of working with local community groups, state governments, and tribal nations in the United States to assess, plan, and build local and regional food systems have made him one of the most experienced peo­ple doing this kind of work. His pioneering eco­nomic analyses of local food systems and the regional food system plans he has written can be found on the website of the Crossroads Resource Center. This much-awaited book is something different. It weaves together his years of experience in a collection of case studies that are grouped according to themes by chapter and which serve in this fashion to present some overarching lessons from Meter’s career.

[1] Mr. Meter served as a JAFSCD columnist from 2010 to 2015. His columns can be found at https://www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/search/index?query=&authors=ken+meter