Edible Communities - a network of regional food magazines that champion the current national trend of eating locally grown, placed-based foods, with compelling stories about farmers, fishers, vintners, chefs and food artisans-honored their publishers from around the country with Awards of Excellence in Publishing ("Eddy Awards") during the company's annual meeting held in Portland, Oregon last week.

Edible Communities publishes magazines from Cape Cod to San Francisco and everywhere in between, currently representing 26 distinct culinary regions, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Iowa, Twin Cities, Memphis, Sacramento and several others. With an annual readership of just over seven million, Edible Communities is the nation's leading publisher of information about the rapidly expanding local foods movement.

According to Edible Communities co-founders, Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, this year's annual meeting was a highlight of their collective publishing careers. "Each of our magazines is doing an outstanding job of providing consumers with valuable information about local foods. They're full of well-written and visually appealing articles that make a compelling case for why people everywhere should know where their food comes from," said Topalian.

Edible Communities awarded ten "Eddy" Awards for excellence in publishing for 2007, in eight categories, as well as a special award for Outstanding Community Service, named The Langeland Award, for Doug and Dianne Langeland, publishers of Edible Cape Cod and the first recipients of this ongoing annual award. The winners and categories for this year's awards were:

BEST EDITORIAL FEATURE LENGTH (category tied)
"An Interview with Paula Wolfert," written by Bruce Cole, publisher/editor of Edible San Francisco, and "Shlepping Seltzer," written by Rachel Wharton, contributing writer to Edible Brooklyn.

BEST EDITORIAL SHORTER LENGTH
Written by Marilee Foster, contributing writer to Edible East End, for her ongoing column: "Farm Girl Angst."

BEST COLUMN NATIONAL FOCUS
Written by Michael Ruhlman, author of The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen (2006), for his article entitled: "Voting Independent: Your Local Grocer Can Save the World."

BEST COLUMN CREATION (category tied)
"The Brooklyn Fridge," created by Gabrielle Langholtz, editor, Edible Brooklyn, and "Edible Traditions," created by Michelle Hueser and Carol Banks, editor and publisher of Edible Twin Cities.

BEST E-NEWSLETTER OR WEBSITE FEATURE
Edible Cape Cod's bi-monthly E-newsletter.

BEST COVER Edible Santa Fe, Summer 2006. Photographer: Carole Topalian.

BEST CREATIVE IDEA
Robert Manning, publisher of Edible Lowcountry and Edible Atlanta for his Advertising Sales Catalogue, which is now being used by all Edible Communities publishers nationwide.

BEST ADVERTISEMENT
Whole Foods Market advertisement, Fall 2006 issue, Edible Brooklyn. Ad copy reads: "How good is the food that comes from Brooklyn? Let's just say the Dodgers haven't had a decent meal since 1957."

THE LANGELAND AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING COMMUNITY SERVICE
Awarded for the first time in 2007 to Edible Cape Cod publishers Doug and Dianne Langeland, and named for them, this award is now a permanent Edible Communities award to be given annually to the publisher who provides their local food community with the most community service. Since they began publishing Edible Cape Codin the summer of 2004, the Langelands have held Board positions for local food events and farmers markets, helped establish the Cape Land & Sea Harvest (CLASH), an annual three-day event that takes place in the fall, participated in The Night of 100 Wines, Taste of the Cape, host an annual Growers & Chefs Collaborative, and in October of last year, they received the Best New Business Award for a business three years or younger from the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce at its annual members meeting.

In addition to the Eddy Awards, several edible magazines awarded "Local Hero Awards" to members of their individual communities who make significant contributions to the local foods movement for that region. Local Hero Awards were given in the following categories: best farmer, rancher, forager; best chef; best food or beverage artisan, best non-profit organization; best restaurant; and best retailer.

EDIBLE SANTA FE

Best Farmer, Rancher, Forager
Tom Delahantey - Pollo Real Pastured Poultry
Don Bustos - Santa Cruz Farms

Best Food Artisan (cheese, honey, chocolates, etc.)
Mark Sciscenti - Kakawa House Chocolates

Best Beverage Artisan (winemaker, brewer, tea, coffee, bottle water, etc.)
Santa Fe Brewing Company - New Mexico's largest brewery with 8 award winning beers on tap - seasonal beers and ales

Best Retailer (gourmet product retailer, cooking school, bakery, etc.)
Santa Fe Farmers Market - open year round!

Best Restaurant
Café Pasqual's for their success in embodying the true soul of Southwest food

Wild Card -
Earthcare International for their commitment to educating and empowering youth to create a healthier, just, and sustainable world.

EDIBLE TWIN CITIES

Best Forager:
Teresa Marrone

Best Food Artisan:
Legacy Chocolates

Best Beverage Artisan:
Peace Coffee

Best Chef:
Tanya Siebenaler - Sapor Cafe

Wild Card:
Sow the Seeds Fund

EDIBLE PHOENIX

Best Farmer, Rancher, Forager
Bob McClendon - McClendon Select

Best Food Artisan (cheese, honey, chocolates, etc.)
Black Mesa Ranch Goat Cheese and Candies

Best Chef
Chrysa Kaufman, Rancho Pinot

Wild Card
Best Non-Profit - Cindy Gentry, Downtown Phoenix Public Market

EDIBLE OJAI

Best Farmer
Jim Churchill & Lisa Brenneis

Best Food Artisan (cheese, honey, chocolates, etc.)
Sandy Messori, Rivendale Lavender Products

Best Beverage Artisan (winemaker, brewer, tea, coffee, bottle water, etc.)
Bill Moses, Casa Barranca Winery

Wild Card
Best non-profit - Ojai's Food for Thought program. Bringing fresh, local, seasonal foods & garden-based learning into the public school lunch program

EDIBLE EAST END

Best Farmer, Rancher, Forager
Scott Chaskey, Quail Hill Farm, Amagansett, NY

Best Food Artisan (cheese, honey, chocolates, etc.)
Art Ludlow, Mecox Dairy, Bridgehampton, NY

Best Beverage Artisan (winemaker, brewer, tea, coffee, bottle water, etc.)
Phil Markowski, Publick House Brewery, Southampton, NY

Best Chef
Joe Realmuto, Nick And Toni's, East Hampton, NY

EDIBLE CAPE COD

Best Farmer, Rancher, Forager
Tim Friary of Cape Cod Organic Farm in Barnstable

Best Food Artisan
Terri Horn, Kayak Cookies

Best Beverage Artisan
Cape Cod Beer, owned by Todd and Beth Marcus.This young family-owned company (less than three years old) does everything right: it turns out a quality product, adheres to ecologically-sound business practices, has created a devoted following through it's customer loyalty program and strong branding campaign, and is extremely active in the community. Did we mention that the beer is very, very delicious?

Wild Card
Most fun example of doing well by doing good - Barnstable Association of Recreational Shellfishing (BARS). Established in 2001 in response to a growing need to protect and preserve the Cape's natural resources, BARS interests and concerns include assisting in the town's shellfish propagation activities, championing improved water quality, increasing "Ways to Water", assisting in development and enforcing regulation of shellfish rules and regulations, and sharing techniques, resources, and recipes. Even their acronym is fun.

EDIBLE BOSTON

Best Farmer
Jon Konove

Best Food Artisan
Gus Rancatore, Toscannini's

Wild Card
Andy O'Keefe - Andy is the individual behind all of the farmers' markets in Worcester. Without him, the markets would not exist. He has and continues to add innovative things to them such as having atms in the markets, creating a gift certificates program and expanding the acceptance of food subsidies vouchers.

EDIBLE ATLANTA & EDIBLE LOWCOUNTRY

Special Recognition:
Whole Foods Market (they have advertised with us since we started Edible Lowcounty). They have sponsored parties for us in both locations, given us use of their photographs and invited us in to do demonstrations, etc. to promote the magazines. They have committed to support us in the next year with events, in store promotions, etc. The magazines "FLY" out of their stores.

Best Farmer:
Edible Lowcountry Spring Issue 06: Celeste Albers. A leader in the Lowcountry's agricultural community, a pioneer in organics in SC, organic farmer, supplier to restaurants, innovator. Farmer's market regular, Co founder of Slow Food Charleston

Best Chef:
Edible Lowcountry: Spring Issue 06 Chef Mike Lata: buys everything he can from local farmers and fishermen, a fantastic chef, co founder of Slow Food Charleston, active in all things food in Charleston.

EDIBLE EAST BAY

Best Farmer, Rancher, Forager
Brian Kenny - Hearst Ranch

Best Food Artisan (cheese, honey, chocolates, etc.)
Kim Cole, creator of Mom's Pizza Dough, which has taken the Bay Area by storm. What impressed me was the way she uses whatever is in her CSA box as topping.

Best Beverage Artisan (winemaker, brewer, tea, coffee, bottle water, etc.)
Numi Tea.

Best Chef
Cindy Deetz of Venezia in Berkeley. The Cal-Stanford Big Cook-Off was her idea and she's done lots to encourage the Cal students to get into cooking.

Wild Card
AMITYWORKS - an Oakland produce-sharing/art project.

EDIBLE SACRAMENTO

Best Farmer, Rancher, Forager
Suzanne Ashworth - Del Rio Botanicals

Best Food Artisan (cheese, honey, chocolates, etc.)
Earth and Vine Provisions

Best Beverage Artisan (winemaker, brewer, tea, coffee, bottle water, etc.)
Vina Castellano Winery

Best Chef
Rick Mahan - Waterboy

IOWA RIVER VALLEY

Outstanding Community Partner
Joshua Schamberger
President
Iowa City/Coralville Convention and Visitor's Bureau

Outstanding Farmer
Tom & Kathy Wahl
RedFern Farms

Outstanding Advertising Partner
Bob Wersen
Tassel Ridge Winery