Food Margins

Named one of Food Tank's 20 Food Systems Reads that Will Inspire You this Summer!

​“An anthropologist, public historian, and lively writer, Stanton ties the story of the co-op to the history of deindustrialization in small mill towns and to plantation agriculture around the world, through a series of brilliant excursions into topics you might not expect to encounter in the New England hinterlands—most notably, tapioca. This simultaneously cheerful and sobering book will remind you once again why we are where we are, and what we can do about it.”—Brian Donahue, From the Ground Up

​“In Food Margins, anthropologist Cathy Stanton delves into her own journey to help save a small food co-op in western Massachusetts. Rooted in her own experience working to keep this co-op open, Stanton explores the challenges that small businesses face in the shadow of giant corporations and the deep racial and class inequities that compound such struggles. The story of the co-op and Stanton’s efforts is rooted in the understanding that this tale is just one of many in a time when food systems are growing increasingly inequitable and unsustainable.”—Maya Deutchman, Food Tank

​“Food Margins leaves the reader gripped with the question of whether [the food co-op] will survive and with a deep appreciation of what it takes to bring fresh food to the shelf.”—Amy Wu, Civil Eats

“Cathy Stanton presents a piercing, passionate, and profoundly braided account of the community’s effort to save a small food co-op.”—Julian Agyeman, coeditor of Cultivating Food Justice: Race, Class, and Sustainability

“Stanton’s writing is accessible and enjoyable, not academic. She is engaged, committed, and even hopeful without being naive or cynical. She mixes scholarly inquiries with personal experience, resulting in vivid and unexpected insights into the American food system.”—Brian Donahue, author of Reclaiming the Commons: Community Farms and Forests in a New England Town