Customer Reviews

Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having read almost every book out there on food policy (and having written my own), I can safely say that Closing the Food Gap has something unique and important to offer. The author has been in the trenches and speaks from first-hand experience, which is rare to find among writers on this topic. Even though I am familiar with the many of book's issues, I thoroughly enjoyed the personal, accessible style and poignant story-telling. If you are looking for an introduction to food justice issues in the U.S., then this is the perfect doorway in. Winne takes us into a world where there are no easy solutions. But by the end, we are convinced that we must find a way to fix the deep injustices in our food system. What makes this book a critical contribution is its elegant argument for access to affordable and sustainable food for everyone. Even if you think you've read other books like it, you really haven't. Read this book and then pass it on.

Michele Simon, author, Appetite for Profit: How the food industry undermines our health and how to fight back

Mark Winne's book is a must read for those concerned about the growing poverty, hunger, and income inequality in America today. The personalized account of his journey from a comfortable, middle-class upbringing in New Jersey to community organizing in the gritty, underserved neighborhoods of Hartford, Connecticut is witty and informative, demonstrating why he has become a leader in this nation's food security movement.

Winne's claim that our current "food system is racist, classist, and sexist" is supported by his well-documented experience in Hartford. He doesn't let any of the powers that be off the hook, from "the mean-spirited ideologues" who have, at times, dammed the federal assistance pipeline to corporate junk food purveyors who he says should be tried and sentenced "to eat nothing but their own food for twenty-five years to life" and even to food bankers who "will do virtually anything to appease [their corporate] donors." His clarion call for bolstering sane, systemic changes in local food structures - like farmers' markets, community gardens, and community supported agriculture - rings true.

I've had the privilege of attending a food policy workshop at which Mr. Winne was the guest speaker. The man has a lot of experience in a wide range of food policy issues. As another "overeducated white guy" (his words), he's dedicated much of his life to improving the food security of those who need help most. Through much of the book, he reiterates time and again how meaningful change must come from within - it can't be forced on a community from an outside source. He honestly shares his successes and failures in a variety of efforts - bringing grocery stores back into underserved neighborhoods, establishing farmer's markets and community gardens, growing CSAs, working with food pantries, even changing bus routes so people from underserved areas can reach the serves they need (food and other services as well). I found his narrative informative and engaging. Best of all, it was real - "We did this, it worked. We did that, it didn't." This was not a "in theory only" book.

What really bothered me, and why I am only giving this book three stars, is how at the end of the book he turned his back on every lesson he's learned and called for top-down, big money, legislative efforts to enforce change. The blew me out of the water. I know Mr. Winne has a very socialist viewpoint, but, dang, from his own experience he should know that simple handouts never solve anything except for in the short term, and federal bureaucracy is very slow to respond to the needs of the people and inevitably does do at higher costs than local programs. He says this himself earlier in the book. I was really disappointed.

Read the book, learn from his successes and failures - there is a lot of good material here - just be aware that it ends in contradictions.

Winne has authored a brilliant treatise on the real issues surrounding food insecurity in The US. With tremendous real world experience, Winne puts a human face on the problems of poverty and the serious costs all of us pay for merely throwing money and food at the problem OR worse yet - ignoring the poor. I read this book, got angry and more importantly got inspired to make a difference in Northern Illinois. READ this book, talk to your friends about it and take home how interconnected poverty, food insecurity, diet-related disease, and escalating healthcare costs really are. THANKS Mark Winne

This book eloquently presents the challenges of feeding people in urban areas. It describes the scope of the problem in the United States, as part of the broader world challenges of Food Insecurity. The book is well written and well informed. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about food access issues in the United States.

I was assigned Winne's book for a class that I am taking on urban food systems and I could not put it down. It is an informative, engaging and empowering book on how to combat the inequality that exists in our food system today. In Closing the Food Gap, Winne takes the massive issue of hunger in America and manages to connect his readers with it on a very personal level. He walks his readers through the communities that are affected daily by poverty and hunger, as well as the ways in which they are fighting for their right to fresh, healthy affordable food. He also challenges his readers to move beyond America's current method of managing hunger and actively confront its root causes. Through the telling of his own story as a food advocate, Winne engages his reader in a discussion of the problems with America's current approach to hunger, as well as clear solutions for creating a more just and equitable food system.

I just happened to see this book at my local farmer's market and I am very thankful to Mark Winne for sharing his experiences and ideas. This book is well organized and easy to read. Mark's experience provides a first-hand perspective and credibility, while supporting information has been thoroughly researched. I consider this book to be a wake up call for me and I hope it will be the same for many others.

This book is probably the best descriptor of how our food systems end up leaving out those in poverty. Extremely well written. If you liked Michael Pollan's books, you will love this.

This book gives an excellent picture of the food and hunger crisis in this country. It's easy to forget with one third of our population being obese that there are also many who go hungry. It's interesting that similar political and environmental forces lead to both problems. Winne is very liberal, which may turn off some more moderate readers, however his science is sound and he has the facts down right.

With all respect to Mr. Winne's argument, his writing is boring and droll. I did not enjoy his book at all, and dreaded having to read it for my college English class. Perhaps I was predisposed to dislike it because it was required reading, but regardless, it could not keep my attention, and I constantly found myself zoning off and thinking about something else instead of educating myself regarding the solutions to our nation's food crises. The subject is a God-send, don't get me wrong, but Winne should have used a ghost writer.