Educational Media Reviews Online

Despite the distressing reasons presented on why the Local Good Food movement is necessary -- the predicted second depression, laws limiting farmers to specific crops, urban food deserts, everyday disconnect from the corporate industrial food system -- Edible City is an uplifting documentary. The film accomplishes the goal of the movement, which is to provoke people into thinking about food and motivate them to get their hands in the dirt. Of the many local activists, community leaders and educators interviewed, none were master gardeners or chefs when they got involved. They saw a need in their community and participated in solving the food crisis by simply planting some seeds in their yards and abandoned lots.

While Edible City’s budget must have been small, the gardens, produce, and communities look bright and engaging. Shots of goats, rabbits, chickens, and dirt depict this grassroots movement as approachable and empowering. While the focus is on the San Francisco Bay Area, this could be any community, rural or urban, in the United States.

Appropriate for public and academic library collections.