What inspires you? Where do you find the inspiration to get going every morning and make life better for yourself, take care of loved ones and nudge the community forward?
Family motivates many people, or the wise words of spiritual leaders, while others find their muse in nature. Followers of Mother Nature are a high percentage of folks in our stunning corner of the planet, where a walk in the redwoods, a plunge in the waves or time spent tending the garden is often considered a religious experience.
We’re among the nature lovers here at Edible Monterey Bay—celebrating the return of summer produce to the farmers’ markets and rejoicing at the approach of the solstice—but what really inspires me is people.
Speaking with readers makes all the hard work of putting together this magazine worthwhile. That usually happens when I’m out on deliveries or at a big party with people I don’t know and sometimes when someone calls to subscribe “in person” by phone. People love and appreciate reading EMB and that keeps me motivated.
Equally important are the wonderful reporters and photographers on our team, and the graphic artists and sales reps behind the scenes. They continually delight me with their talents. Opening a new photo shoot on my computer is like Christmas morning. There are so few media outlets for talented people in our area that it’s a privilege to be able to provide one, and it gets me out of the garden and back to my desk every day.
Then there are the people we feature in this Summer issue, which is filled with inspiring individuals— all of them working in their own ways to improve the food system on the local, national and international levels.
We introduce you to a couple—better known for their outlandish Purple Party fundraisers— that is transforming a horse ranch out in Carmel Valley into an ecological paradise. You’ll also read the real life story of a farmer in Moss Landing who was encouraged to cultivate vegetables after traveling the world and starting a small garden in the highlands of Mexico.
You’ll meet new brewers, a cocktail artist and a real artist whose work revolves around the tables of the past. And we find out that living in our midst is a woman whose work, and Santa Cruz upbringing, is having a hugely positive influence on corporate food service across the country.
Also in this edition, we introduce Edible for Kids™—a new pullout section created in partnership with Barefoot Books, Inc. and filled with healthy cooking, eating and gardening tips for readers young and old.
One of the comments I hear most often from readers is how they find Edible Monterey Bay so positive and uplifting. It’s true, we are optimists at heart. While we don’t want to minimize the problems facing our society, there is plenty of coverage of those issues in other media. We prefer to use our magazine to create a beautiful space with stories of local people who are working to make things better.
We hope it brings you some inspiration this summer!
Deborah Luhrman
Publisher
About the author
Deborah Luhrman is publisher and editor of Edible Monterey Bay. A lifelong journalist, she has reported from around the globe, but now prefers covering our flourishing local food scene and growing her own vegetables in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
