Besides a bucket overflowing with tart cherries, you also may have noticed the James Beard Foundation Award that graces our summer cover. We are proud that Edible Grande Traverse has been awarded the 2011 Publication of the Year Award from the James Beard Foundation. We are even more pleased that we share this distinction with nearly 70 other titles currently publishing within the Edible Communities network of regional food magazines—congratulations to all! Could it be, then, that sometimes “life is just a bowl of cherries”? eGT

Statement from the James Beard Awards Committee:

This year, the Journalism Committee of the James Beard Foundation Awards has decided for the first time to present a special award for what it deems to be Publication of the Year. This award recognizes a publication that demonstrates fresh directions, worthy ambitions, and a forward-looking approach to food journalism.

The publications produced by the Edible Communities company are locally grown and community based, like the foods, family farmers, growers, retailers, chefs and food artisans they feature. The company’s unique publishing model addresses the most crucial trends in food journalism; the publications are rooted in distinct culinary regions throughout the United States and Canada, celebrating local, seasonal foods with the goal of transforming the way we shop, cook and eat. Their underlying values help direct today’s spirit of shared responsibility: every person has the right to eat affordable, fresh, healthful food every day.

Edible Communities began in 2002 in a valley north of Los Angeles with a single publication, Edible Ojai. By maintaining consistent standards of excellence, the network has since grown to 70 publications in 2011. Edible Communities’ regional journalists and publishers are local foods advocates who write with a community voice, reside in the communities where they publish, and savor the culinary products produced there.

Edible Communities is more than a group of high-quality, regional print magazines with compelling storytelling and visual narratives. We believe that in years to come the collected work of these unique publications will serve as a valuable resource for exploring the impact of regional food and agriculture from a grassroots perspective.

At a time when journalists are reinventing traditional publications and embracing digital formats, the Journalism Committee of the James Beard Foundation is proud to recognize Edible Communities for this first-ever award. Edible Communities’ body of work reflects excellence in the ever-changing world of food journalism. Its publications inform and connect today’s food-savvy readers with local communities that stand for a healthful, flavorful, and sustainable food supply.

— The Journalism Awards Committee