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Did you know there are over 80 edible magazines across North America, thanks to passionate and caring readers like you? We created edible South Shore & South Coast in 2008, and you now hold edition #30 in your hands. As the New Year unfolds we reflect on the community we have cultivated, and the impact edible has on our food systems, here, and across the North America. 3200 miles away, our fellow publishers at edible Monterey Bay recently mirrored our feelings so succinctly in their recent Grist letter, that we felt compelled to share their sentiments (with permission):

Vietnamese Zen monk and peacemaker, Thich Nhat Hahn, teaches a practice that he calls “looking deeply.” He says you can look at an apple and just see an apple. Or, if you look deeply, you may see the sunlight that allowed it grow. You may also see the wood of the tree from which it sprang. And you may see the water and the nutrient-rich soil that fed it, and the hands of the person who picked its fruit. All of this exists in the apple you hold in your hand, if you are willing to look beyond the surface. We think that whether you are Buddhist or not, looking deeply makes for a more connected and grateful life.

If you look deeply at the pages of this publication, you’ll see the countless hours of research, writing, tasting, ruminating, passionate debating, illustrating, and photographing done by our many contributors. We work very hard to make every page worth savoring.

Looking deeply at this magazine in another way, you may wonder how it is financially supported—most people who read it do not have to pay for it. So what keeps the printers rolling? Our many advertising partners.

Our ad/partners choose to be a part of edible because they ‘get it’—they understand how much you, our reader, truly cares. Our partners grasp the passion with which you devour everything that fills this magazine—and they know that includes their beautiful ads. So if you value this magazine and what it does for our community, please resolve to show our advertisers some love. And when you do, please remember to thank them for supporting edible South Shore & South Coast. They truly appreciate hearing from you.

Eat thoughtfully,

Laurie Hepworth & Michael Hart