GRIST FOR THE MILL

It happened so suddenly. One moment we were looking forward to spring break, graduation celebrations and summer beach parties. Then, without much warning, it was all about hand washing, sheltering at home and frightening statistics. Activities we love, activities that sustain this magazine—like dining out, beer and wine tasting, travel— vanished overnight. Scary times for any publication. But we sprang into action, reporting through our weekly newsletter and social media about the closures, cancellations and ways to help our beloved food community survive—such as ordering to-go meals, shopping at farmers’ markets, supporting local fishermen and donating to the food banks.

As the lockdown dragged on, we began to notice people from all walks of life coming back to the values that Edible Monterey Bay has stood for since it was founded nine years ago—supporting our local community and paying close attention to where our food comes from.

Stuck at home, people joined CSAs, started baking and planted victory gardens. Out in the community, restaurants pivoted to takeout, chefs began selling meal kits, wineries offered virtual tastings, growers and distribution companies invented dozens of new schemes to get their products directly to consumers. Contactless, curbside pickup became the hot new selling point.

In a way the COVID-19 pandemic has provided a stress test on our local foodshed—challenging the ways food is produced, distributed and consumed. While the problems are far from over, we are in awe of all the ingenuity and collaboration that has emerged so far. And, once again, we are so very grateful to be living in a bountiful region where such a wide variety of fresh, healthy food is close at hand.

Did we pass the stress test? That remains to be seen.

But the stories in this issue demonstrate a great resilience in the local foodshed, which seems to be growing ever stronger in the Monterey Bay area despite the pandemic or maybe because of it, blossoming like the beautiful dahlia on our cover.

Our writers and photographers—who worked under unusual circumstances to produce this issue, using Zoom, wearing masks and observing social distancing—are proud to share stories about community-minded endeavors like the Back Alley Garden in Santa Cruz, Off The Hook in Hollister, the Secret Bakery in Salinas and the Cachagua General Store 3.0 in Carmel Valley.

We want to take you behind the scenes at the regional farmers’ markets to meet the folks who have kept them going over the past difficult months.

We think you’ll enjoy reading about a new marriage of high-tech and local farming called EatLocal.Farm. And we invite you to do some armchair traveling with a collector of cannabis seeds from all over the world.

So take a break from the virtual world. Say goodbye to the computer screen for a while and enjoy holding this beautiful, tangible issue of Edible Monterey Bay in your hands. And please take a moment to appreciate all of the wonderful advertising partners who continue to sustain us in these uncertain times. Thank them with your business in a positive cycle of community support. We’re all in this together.

Deborah Luhrman Publisher

edible

MONTEREY BAY

EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Deborah Luhrman deborah@ediblemontereybay.com 831.600.8281

FOUNDERS Sarah Wood and Rob Fisher

COPY EDITOR Doresa Banning LAYOUT & DESIGN Matthew Freeman and Tina Bossy-Freeman

AD DESIGNERS Zephyr Pfotenhauer Melissa Thoeny Designs

CONTRIBUTORS Mark C. Anderson • Liz Birnbaum Crystal Birns • Julie Cahill • Jordan Champagne Jamie Collins • Maria Gaura • Margaux Gibbons Maria Grusauskas • Coline LeConte • Michelle Magdalena • Kathryn McKenzie • Laura Ness Zephyr Pfotenhauer • Patrick Tregenza Jessica Tunis • Amber Turpin • Sarah Wood

ADVERTISING SALES ads@ediblemontereybay.com • 831.600.8281 Shelby Lambert shelby@ediblemontereybay.com Kate Robbins kate@ediblemontereybay.com Aga Simpson aga@ediblemontereybay.com

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Mick Freeman • 831.419.2975

CONTACT US: Edible Monterey Bay P.O. Box 487 Santa Cruz, CA 95061 ediblemontereybay.com 831.600.8281 info@ediblemontereybay.com

Edible Monterey Bay is published quarterly. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used without written permission of the publisher. Subscriptions are $28 per year at ediblemontereybay.com. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our apologies and notify us. We also welcome letters to the above address. Thank you.