We wanted to share a few resources our Good Food team have read, and are talking about in our community! The two books below are some of our Good Food System Initiatives go-to resources when talking about how we can move forward from a charity mindset, transforming how we think about food pantries in our community. 

The Stop: How the Fight for Good Food Transformed a Community and Inspired a Movement by Nick Saul and Andrea Curtis. If you know our Good Food Team, you know they love the work of the Community Food Centres Canada. This books shares their story. This is a great ready for anyone interested in transforming their food service work to community centered and dignified community action. “Since community worked Nick Saul because the Executive Director of The Stop in 1998, it has been transformed from a cramped food back to a thriving, internationally respected Community Food Centre. The Stop has flourished with gardens, kitchens, a greenhouse, farmers’ markets and a mission to revolutionize our food system. In a voice that’s “never preachy” (MacLean’s), Saul and Curtis share what The Stop could mean for the future of food, and argue that everyone deserves a dignified, healthy place at the table (Melville House Books).” This book is currently available at the Grand Rapids Public Library and Kent District Library electronically and in hard copy. 

Big Hunger: The Unholy Alliance between Corporate America and Anti-Hunger Groups (Food, Health, and the Environment) by Andrew Fisher. Andrew Fisher was spoke in our community around a year ago and left an impact on those in attendance. In his book, “Fisher lays out a vision that encompasses a broader definition of hunger characterized by a focus on public health, economic justice, and economic democracy. He points to the work of numerous grassroots organizations that are leading the way in these fields as models for the rest of the anti-hunger sector. It is only through approaches like these that we can hope to end hunger, not just manage it.” In writing this blog post it was discovered this book is not at our local library! So a request has been put into the Grand Rapids Public Library to purchase it. 

We’re grateful that we are not alone in our work and have people we can learn from and model programs and initiatives after.