Philip Ackerman-Leist is a sustainable agriculture writer and professor at Green Mountain College in Vermont.

You could say he has his hands in the dirt - it's in his blood. He and his family have farmed for several generations. His father was a peach orchard farmer in eastern North Carolina during the mid-1900s.

Ackerman-Leist has farmed for more than 20 years. He established Green Mountain College's farm and sustainable agriculture curriculum.

The Randolph Arts Guild is partnering with the Randolph County Library to welcome him back to Randolph County for another artful agricultural lecture.

Ackerman-Leist's current book, "Rebuilding the Foodshed," explores the very nature of how we use the current food systems to find nourishment. Droves of people have turned to local food as a way to retreat from our broken industrial food system.

From rural outposts to city streets, they are sowing, growing, selling and eating food produced close to home - and they are crying out for agricultural reform. All this has made "local food" into everything from a movement buzzword to the newest darling of food trendsters.

But now it's time to take the conversation to the next level. That's exactly what Philip Ackerman-Leist does in "Rebuilding the Foodshed," in which he refocuses the local food lens on the broad issue of rebuilding regional food systems that can replace the destructive aspects of industrial agriculture, meet food demands affordably and sustainably, and be resilient enough to endure potentially rough times ahead.

Changing our foodscapes raises a host of questions. How far away is local? How do you decide the size and geography of a regional foodshed? How do you tackle tough issues that plague food systems large and small - issues like inefficient transportation, high energy demands, and rampant food waste? How do you grow what you need with minimum environmental impact? And how do you create a foodshed that's resilient enough if fuel grows scarce, weather gets more severe, and traditional supply chains are hampered?

Showcasing some of the most promising, replicable models for growing, processing and distributing sustainably grown food, this book points the reader toward the next stages of the food revolution. It also covers the full landscape of the burgeoning local-food movement, from rural to suburban to urban, and from backyard gardens to large-scale food enterprises.

The free lecture takes place 7 p.m., Friday, March 8, in the Sara Smith Self Gallery, located inside the Moring Arts Center, 123 Sunset Ave., in downtown Asheboro.

For more information on this event, contact the Randolph Arts Guild at (336) 629-0399.