(Publisher’s note: Please, grab this book and read it. I absolutely loved it.)
Join the Chelsea District Library and the Chelsea Wellness Foundation as it celebrates the 7th annual community read event with In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan.
“The book is a celebration of food — real, proper, simple food, not the kind that comes in a packet, or has a list of unpronounceable ingredients, or that makes nutritional claims about how healthy it is,” according to a press release from the library.
Then follow his advice: Eat food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.
Each year library staff, local teachers, business owners and other community members come together to read and discuss one book to build a sense of community while promoting literacy.
Last year, the Chelsea District Library took the community read, formerly known as Chelsea Reads Together, beyond library walls by teaming up with the Chelsea Wellness Foundation as part of its Five Healthy Towns Project.
This year the partnership between Chelsea District Library and Chelsea Wellness Foundation not only continues, but expands to include the towns of Stockbridge, Dexter, Manchester and Grass Lake and will now be called the 5 Healthy Towns Community Read.
The library plans to highlight one of the Five Healthy Towns Project’s core elements — Eat Better, Move More, Connect with Others in Healthy Ways, and Avoid Unhealthy Substances — each year for five years.
More than 1,500 copies of In Defense of Food will be circulated among the five communities with the tag line Read it, Sign it, Share it to encourage everyone to read the book, sign the bookplate and pass it on to a neighbor or leave it in a public location.
Five hundred copies will be distributed in the Chelsea area.
These pass-it-on books can be found at the Chelsea District Library as well as local restaurants, doctor’s offices, beauty salons, banks and fitness centers, according to the release.
The 5H Community Read Kick-Off is Saturday, Sept. 15 from noon-2 p.m. at the Chelsea District Library, 221 South Main St. It will feature bands, games, tastings, cooking demonstrations, kid’s activities and free pass-it-on copies of In Defense of Food.
The Chelsea Library will team up with several local organizations to provide themed programs including cooking demonstrations with Chelsea Community Kitchen, tours of the Community Farm of Ann Arbor and Capella Farm, movie screenings at the local Family Circle Farm, and a Real Food Workshop at local restaurant Back to the Roots.
The Intergenerational Garden, Tantre Farm, and local teacher Kristi Henry are also partnering with the Chelsea District Library to provide themed programs for area children and teens.
There will be programs developed around the 5 Healthy Towns Project theme, Eat Better and Michael Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food in all of the five communities throughout the fall.
For more information, go to the 5 Healthy Towns Community Read website at www.5hcommunityread.wordpress.com.
