I have been intrigued by the magazine, Edible Communites ever since I picked up one of its first regional magazines on Cape Cod five years ago. The regional magazines have a lot in common in that they are building the food community in the region the issue is published while the content is different in each regional issue.
The magazines connect consumers with family farmers, growers, chefs, and food artisans of all kinds, large and small. Edible Communites believes that every person has the right to affordable, fresh, healthful food on a daily basis and that knowing where their food comes from is a powerful thing.
So each issue has articles on the growers, the processors, the restaurants, the stores and the small businesses in a local area that support the local food community. It is for-profit, member-driven corporation – individuals who own the regional publications are local-foods advocates and residents of the communities they publish in – a business model that not only supports Edible’s values, but also preserves the integrity of their member publications and the communities they serve.
As a former print publication publisher, I am mightily impressed with the way each individual publication has grown and become an important part of the local and regional food community in which it is published.
They saw the potential growth in North America of the Slow Food movement and the “foodies” that are a part of it, took a model with many similarities and ran with it. I have seen copies of the magazine at restaurants, food co-ops and natural food supermarkets, wine and cheese shops, and bookstores across the country. Each issue gives the reader the local “flavor” of food and its growers in the region. Highly recommended!
Graphic used with permission from Edible Communities
Hydroponics Dictionary
