Gather: Black Food, Nourishment, and the Art of Togetherness (A Norton Short)

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With an anthropologist's keen eye for vivid detail and a knack for noticing ancestral ritual in everyday practices, Ashanté M. Reese expertly reveals the deep meaning of nourishment--togetherness in celebration and suffering.--Tiya Miles, National Book Award winner and author of Night Flyer: Harriet Tubman and the Faith Dreams of A Free People and Wild Girls

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This is a text not just to consider, but to devour. The love and care are palpable.--Stephen Satterfield, host of High on the Hog

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How do we survive in a hostile world full of anti-Blackness and still have time for joy? How do we create food systems for us and by us? Gather offers us a powerful, digestible, and delicious path forward.--Michael W. Twitty, author of The Cooking Gene and Koshersoul

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A luminous, deeply felt meditation on nourishment, memory, and collective care.--Bryant Terry, James Beard and NAACP Image Award-winning author of Black Food and Vegetable Kingdom

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Dr. Ashanté M. Reese serves us a warm plate of berry pie while reminding us that the food justice we seek is among us already.--Leah Penniman, cofounder of Soul Fire Farm, and author of Farming While Black and Black Earth Wisdom

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In this phenomenal meditation on food's role in Black history and culture, anthropologist Reese (Black Food Matters) shares guiding principles gleaned from Black social gatherings that can help combat hunger and food insecurity. . . It's a delicacy for the heart, mind, and soul.-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

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An intimate look at the role food plays in Black get-togethers. . . [Reese] moves with fluid grace between close observation of and emotional bonding with her subjects as well as a more detached but never cold discussion of the cultural and social implications of seemingly simple and personal gatherings . . . Warmly satisfying insights into food and community.-- "Kirkus Reviews"

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A powerful and urgent call to remember, to gather, and to nourish our future.--Spring Council, author of Southern Roots: Recipes and Stories from Mama Dip's Daughter

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From church gardens and pantries to Black-owned farm efforts, Gather captures the creativity, imagination, and ingenuity of the Black Diaspora, past and present, to keep itself fed and nourished.--Nataya Culler "Booklist"

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Gather?reflects how food serves as a catalyst for cohesion and change in Black communities.--Jane Godiner "The Baltimore Sun"

Publisher Marketing:

Food justice is defined as the understanding that our food system is unequal and that something needs to be done about it. But how can we create a world where everyone has enough? What does it mean to truly nourish ourselves and our communities?

In Gather, anthropologist Ashanté M. Reese argues for a vibrant new vision of food justice that places Black communities at the center and offers us a visionary, delicious path forward. Reese reveals that to truly create equity in our food systems, we must embrace the abundance that already exists around us--and recognize that the social body is as important as our individual health

Gather presents rich, on-the-ground stories of gathering around food in four spaces--gardens, family reunions, repasts, and protests. Blending rich storytelling with analysis, these chapters argue for the political power of food and invite us to learn from the tactics Black communities have long used to create sustainable, systemic change.

There are no simple solutions to the problems of acute need. But by recognizing that food justice is already all around us, we can start working together to create a more nourishing, joyful world. Gather is an intimate and urgent invitation to embrace local power, build better food systems, and nourish ourselves, body and soul.

Review Citations:

• Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2026 (EAN 9781324076469, Hardcover)
• Booklist 02/01/2026 (EAN 9781324076469, Hardcover)
• Publishers Weekly 03/30/2026 (EAN 9781324076469, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Contributor Bio:Reese, Ashanté M
Ashanté M. Reese is a writer, anthropologist, and associate professor of African and African diaspora studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Raised in Cooper Settlement, Texas, she lives in Austin and is involved in food justice movements nationwide.