FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT EDIBLE COMMUNITIES,
INC
Q:
What is "Edible Communities, Inc."?
A: Edible Communities, Inc. (ECI) is a unique, communications
and publishing company that formed in response to the rapidly
growing local foods movement that is sweeping the country.
We are interested in exploring and promoting the "local
flavors" of communities everywhere. Through our newsletters,
magazines, Web sites, and events, we provide information
to those who want to connect, in a more direct way, with
the food resources in their region. With an emphasis on
sustainable agriculture, small family farmers, and artisanal
food producers, we help bridge the gap between consumers
and producers with publications that are fun, beautiful
to look at, environmentally friendly, and contain content
that gives us all a certain peace of mind.
Q: Why does Edible Communities exist?
A: ECI's mission is to transform the way communities shop
for, cook, eat, and relate to the food that is grown and
produced in their area. This seems to have resonated with
a lot of folks who understand the importance of buying locally
to support their family farmers and community merchants,
and who appreciate good-tasting, healthful foods. Our quarterly
publications are helping communities rebuild their foodsheds
by making connections between--and raising the profiles
of--growers, restaurateurs, and other important elements
of the local food communities we publish in. By doing so,
we are becoming an important resource within a rapidly growing,
nationwide movement to buy local, fresh, seasonal, and sustainable
foods, and to appreciate what this means for our bodies,
minds and environment.
Q: How did Edible Communities get
started?
A: After ten years of running a highly successful graphic
design and marketing firm that specialized in the tourism,
agriculture, and culinary industries, ECI's co-founders,
Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, decided to focus their
efforts on creating publications that were based entirely
on local foods. In the spring of 2002, with the help of
many writer friends and community members, they launched
the first of these publications, Edible Ojai, which immediately
won awards and gained attention from some mainstream media
outlets. Knowing they had struck a chord, the two began
working with experts to develop a business model that would
allow them to offer similar publications in other distinct
culinary regions across the country. In January of 2004,
Edible Ojai was named to Saveur magazine's "Top 100"
list, where they called it "a newsletter concept we
wish would crop up everywhere…[Edible Ojai] might well
be a model for all food-themed publications." Within
the first week of the Saveur announcement, more than 100
people from all over the country contacted ECI about starting
publications in their communities. And they haven't stopped
yet! We built our website, finalized the business model,
created an operating procedure, consulted with even more
experts, and went on the road. The first community-based
publication after Edible Ojai was Edible Cape Cod, and now,
just two and a half years later, we are a network of 22
publications, with several more coming each year.
Q: How do you define an Edible
Community?
A. For the purposes of ECI's publications, a "community"
could be considered a foodshed, or a distinct culinary or
growing region. There is no hard and fast rule as to what
defines and Edible Community, and some communities are easier
to define simply as a result of their particular geography.
For example, Edible Cape Cod's community extends the length
of the long, skinny peninsula and includes two islands.
Edible Chesapeake's community consists of the Chesapeake
Bay Watershed Region, and extends into several states. Edible
Ojai, on the other hand, is defined by the mountains that
contain the small, rural, agricultural valley that it is.
The designations of other communities might be a bit more
amorphous or vary greatly in size, depending on what is
being produced in the area for a given topography, climate,
population density, marketing area-a place united and defined
by the land, people, food and commerce. For our purposes,
a community is NOT a simple matter of an imaginary political
boundary like a state or county.
Q: Can Edible Communities exist
everywhere?
A: But of course! Wherever there are folks who can be brought
together to appreciate what is grown and produced locally,
who want to support their local merchants and farmers, and
who take an interest in producing, preparing and consuming
good food in season, that's where you can find an Edible
Community.
Q: Who are Edible Communities' members?
A: Our members are a highly energetic and talented group
of folks who have made a personal, as well as financial,
investment in producing an Edible publication at least four
times a year for their community. They come from all walks
of life and bring with them a wealth of experiences. (See
the Members' Bios on the About Us page.) They all share
a sense of fun, a love of good food, wine, writing, and
the environment, and a strong commitment to the notion that
making the world a better place starts with the local community.
Edible Members generally serve as editor and publisher for
their respective newsletters, with ECI providing them the
training, skill, expertise, and support to make their publications
successful.
Q: How can I start an Edible in
my community?
A: It's pretty straightforward, and all laid out on the
"Starting Your Own Newsletter" page on this Web
site. We hope you'll find it a rewarding and interesting
process. We know you will meet many interesting folks in
your area that share your interest in healthy, seasonal
foods, preserving farmlands and open space while building
a real sense of community. Scrumptious food, lovingly prepared,
sustainably grown and seasonally harvested, is a win-win
recipe-- healthy for our bodies and for our environment.
It is up to all of us--consumers and producers alike--to
join hands and hearts and build our edible communities.
What can be better than that?
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT "BUYING LOCAL"
Q: Why is 'buying local' important?
A: Here are some important reasons to buy fresh, local
foods (adapted from information from Community Alliance
with Family Farmers):
Q: What can I do to support the
"Buy Local" effort?
A: Shop at your local farmers' markets. Make a real effort
to find out where your food comes from; if the item's origin
is not clearly labeled, ask your grocer! Frequent local
businesses owned by people in your own community. Buy fruits
and vegetables that are in season, locally harvested, and
plant-ripened; they'll be at peak flavor, goodness and nutrition.
Get to your know farmers and merchants, and if your community
has an Edible quarterly newsletter, read each new issue
avidly! If your community doesn't have an Edible, consider
starting one.
A: A "foodshed" is similar in concept to a watershed.
A foodshed, as defined by author, and ECI member, Brian
Halweil, is "that sphere of land, people, and businesses
that provides a community or region with its food".
Edible Communities members' newsletters help to link the
different elements of a given foodshed.
Q: What are "artisanal"
products?
A: These are things produced by skilled craftsman, often
using skills and techniques handed down from generations,
or honed to a fine degree by practice. Artisanal foods such
as cheeses, breads, sausages, jams, are lovingly prepared,
hand-made usually in small batches, and produced with care
and pride. Artisanal glassware and other items are similarly
produced and usually each piece is unique and can be of
heirloom quality. Artisanal products reflect a sense of
place and individuality. Check out the Links page where
we provide links to websites that describe some of our favorite
artisanal foods and products that can ship their products
nationwide.
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