San Diego Wine Guy: Uniting food lovers

Edible San Diego magazine spotlights locally grown and produced food and wine

A new local magazine is promoting distinctive ways to digest San Diego.

From the farm to the table and everywhere in between, Edible San Diego magazine is a resource that will help residents make choices on the way they shop for, cook, eat and relate to the food that is grown and produced close to home.

San Diego, like other communities, has developed its own diverse style as to the way its residents relate to food and drink. The magazine takes the reader on a journey - to all parts of the county - in search of fresh, sustainable and locally produced edibles.

The publication is an offspring of its mother organization called Edible Communities. Founded in 2002, Edible Communities was created with a mission of being a publishing and information services company that produces editorially rich, community-based, local food publications in distinct culinary regions throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Currently there are 47 editions published throughout the United States and Canada - and that number is growing.

North County resident Mary Willis founded Edible San Diego. After learning the publication existed in other areas, she called Edible Communities to ask when a San Diego edition might be published. In turn, she was asked if she’d be the local licensee.

Mary has had plenty of support in her new vocation. Though her husband Jeff Willis has a full time job, he has been integral to the success of this new endeavor. Also, the collaborative efforts of other edible licensees around North America and the guidance of Edible Communities have proven to be invaluable.

“It has been an exciting and uplifting experience meeting people with a passion for this type of product and sharing that with our readers,” Mary said.

The Summer 2008 edition featured a column on a boutique producer of jams from Ocean Beach called Jackie’s Jams. Proprietor Jackie Anderson creates jams from the ripest fruit, mostly from San Diego area farms, using organic ingredients whenever possible.

Anderson believes there is a large portion of the population that is interested in these types of high quality, natural products. With the help of Edible San Diego, this genre of food will be more available to the general public.

Not only has Anderson seen an increase in sales since the column ran on her jams, but she also uses the magazine as a networking tool to find new suppliers as her business grows.

“Edible San Diego is extremely credible,” Anderson said. “(The readers) are the ones who care about what they eat, their buying habits and their health.”

This fast growing, locally driven network is exactly what Edible San Diego is all about.

“We want people to have more food choices,” Mary said. “We help connect growers and producers with those who buy healthy.”

The magazine is preparing to release its third edition Sept. 4.

The quarterly publication is available at farmers markets throughout San Diego County as well as at Whole Foods Market and Barons Marketplace locations. For a fee, Edible San Diego can also be delivered directly to your home.

Magazine archives can be found at

www.ediblesandiego.com

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