What is

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 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.

Why does Edible Communities exist?

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.

How did Edible Communities get started?

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.

How do you define an Edible Community?

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.

Can Edible Communities exist everywhere?

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.

Who are Edible Communities' members?

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 magazines, with ECI providing them the training, skill, expertise, and support to make their publications successful.

How can I start an Edible in my community?

It's pretty straightforward, and all laid out on the "Starting Your Own Magazine" 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?