Winter can be a time of rest, reflection, and hibernation—a season, in “normal” circumstances, to consider the successes (and failures) of the year’s literal and figurative harvests, to refine our visions, sketch new blueprints, revise our menus, and order seeds for the coming spring. In this period without precedent, more than a few of us may recoil at the prospect of yet more time tucked away in the relative comfort of our homes. But as we learn from the stories in this issue, there is important work to be done in the winter—in the garden, in the kitchen, in our food systems—and this year, the occasion to nourish the roots of a healthier, more just and equitable local food system has taken on renewed urgency.
