From the Publisher & Editor
JUNE/JULY 2010
It has been two years since we printed the first issue of Flavor, years in which we’ve all witnessed exciting growth in the awareness and availability of local food in the Capital Foodshed.
Stores are adding to their inventory of local food and wine—a change that has been enthusiastically received by customers and patrons. Producers like The Farm at Sunnyside and Polyface Farms continue to draw national attention. Local winemakers are garnering more national and international awards and praise. Chefs committed to sourcing locally stand out among their peers. Farmers markets are packed with shoppers, leading organizers to go year-round or open new markets in other neighborhoods.
When we started the magazine, we took our cues from the farmers around us who keep a sustainable pace of growth. And at increments, we’ve grown from a 40-page quarterly distributed in nine counties to a 100-plus-page bimonthly distributed throughout D.C. and much of Virginia and Maryland. We’ve attracted respected contributors such as Joel Salatin, Marian Burros, Walter Nicholls, and Bill Plante. This issue includes a feature on winemaker Michael Shaps by Washington Post wine columnist Dave McIntyre (page 88) and the second installation of winemaker Jim Law’s new column, Growing Wines (page 86).
As we enter our third year, we will be doing some more growing still. Flavor, which has been distributed for free, will soon be for sale at many of the businesses that already carry it as well at new locations, such as bookstores. This means that finding a copy of Flavor will be easier, because we’ll be better able to meet the demand for more copies in more locations.
We sincerely believe that increasing Flavor’s circulation will inspire more people to spend their food and entertainment dollars in ways that benefit our foodshed. In turn, our region’s farms, wineries, and businesses will thrive and be able to continue providing us with delicious, healthful, sustainably raised food.
Many of you have told us how indispensable Flavor has become. We ask now for your financial support. Subscribe. Give a subscription as a gift. Ask your favorite stores to carry the magazine. And patronize our advertisers!
Melissa J. Harris & Jennifer Conrad Seidel
a slice of humble pie
In our April/May 2010 issue, we included a photo of a Horizon milk product in the feature “One of Us?” to illustrate the label used by the USDA Organic Program, which Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan helped launch. We were not aware that this company has at various times been under investigation by the USDA for allegedly failing to follow organic standards. We should have chosen a more appropriate product to photograph. We also regretfully misspelled Carole Keathley’s name in the article “Unleashing Your Inner Winemaker.”
