Presented with Lakewinds Food Co-op

Bet the Farm: The Dollars and Sense of Growing Food in America is Beth Hoffman's story of moving from San Francisco to rural Iowa to take over her husband's family's 530-acre farm. After 20 years of reporting on food and agriculture as a journalist, Hoffman saw the move as a chance to put all she had learned into practice. Yet she quickly learned that reporting on farming and doing it were two very different things.

Bet the Farm tells the tale of transitioning the farm from one generation to the next and the challenges of converting a farm from conventional practices to more regenerative ones. Through Beth's personal story, the book also tells the story of American agriculture and the economics of farming today.

Beth Hoffman began her food writing career focused on culture, producing a food series on KUER (an NPR affiliate in Salt Lake City) and receiving a grant to document the stories of immigrant women as they cooked in their homes (which became a radio series that aired on Weekend America). Now twenty years into writing and producing work on food and agriculture, her areas of expertise have grown to include the potential of agriculture in development, the financial viability of farms, and sustainability in agriculture.

She has aired and published on NPR's Morning Edition and on their food blog The Salt, written for The Guardian, New Food Economy, and produced work for the News Hour, Latino USA, and The World. She blogged as the "Hungry Hack" for Forbes.com for two and a half years and wrote a major report and several smaller ones for Oxfam International on how the top ten food and beverage companies in the world contribute to hunger and poverty.

Perhaps most importantly, she is now a beginning farmer on a 540-acre farm in Iowa. While she has only lived on-farm since 2019, she has spent every summer on the farm for the past five years. Her husband was raised on the family's farm, trained as a chef, and was a produce buyer, a wine buyer, and a butcher (for twelve years). Together, they have combined knowledge about almost every aspect of food.

Eric Young works in marketing at Lakewinds Food Co-op. During his time there he has spent dozens of hours visiting and interviewing small local farmers. This experience has given him an appreciation for the challenges that small and emerging farmers face. Despite the uphill struggle, he believes the future of sustainable food lies with these dedicated and innovative individuals. In addition to being a local food and soil advocate, Eric loves the outdoors, traveling abroad, and gardening.

Lakewinds is a community-owned cooperative grocery store with over 27,000 members that was founded in 1975. They’re committed to local, organic, and sustainable food, household, and wellness items. There is no membership required to shop the co-op; everyone is welcome. Lakewinds brings the farm to you at their three western metro locations. Learn more at Lakewinds.coop.

A note about in person events:

We are very excited to bring authors and readers back together in our space, and we know you are too!

We ask that you use honesty, care, and understanding in interacting with fellow event-goers, staff, and authors.

Please note that Magers & Quinn will always comply with current city and state regulations, and reserves the right to change the below policies at any time. These are guidelines only, and if you have questions about the most up to date information, you can always call us at 612-822-4611.

For information about how our in-person events will work over the coming months, please read on:

Q: Are masks required?

A: Please wear a mask while in the event area and in the signing line, and during the hike, if attending.

For the health and safety of others, we strongly encourage you to wear a mask or face covering.

Q: Are in store events free?

A: Yes, Magers & Quinn events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Q: Do I need to RSVP?

A: Yes, please. Each event will now include a registration link.

As we navigate this step back to in-person events, we will be limiting event capacity to ensure a safe and comfortable experience for all attendees and authors. By requiring pre-registration, we can easily communicate event updates and policies with those who plan to attend, and can contact attendees after the event with follow-up information.

We strongly suggest registering via the Eventbrite link provided on our website, but if you are unable to sign up online, please call or visit the bookstore and register with a bookseller.

We may or may not be able to accommodate unregistered walk-ins, and seating priority will always be given to registered customers. We appreciate your understanding of this new process!