A TIME TO SHARE
Wrapping up our last issue of the year, I’m struck by the number of stories in this issue that underline one often-unheralded beauty of our local food community: Food is about sharing.
The farmers, chefs, restaurateurs, home cooks, food bank and soup kitchen volunteers, and beverage artisans featured in these pages, now and throughout the year, all have what I’ve referred to as the hospitality gene. It’s the desire to provide sustenance, comfort, camaraderie, and a welcoming hand through the act of growing, producing, making, and sharing food. These people improve our quality of life here in the Garden State. We, in turn, can pass on that same sense of hospitality and sharing within our own family and local community for the benefit of all.
The holidays, of course, are high season for sharing. So, in this issue we visit a supper club whose gatherings create new friendships as well as funds for worthy causes (p.44). We share some cookie inspiration (p.20) and we look at the amazing impact of organizations such as the Community Food Bank of New Jersey (p.34) and Camden’s Cathedral Kitchen (p.38). We also visit two entrepreneurial businesses—one new and one decades-old—whose business models are built upon offering welcoming environments to gather and share.
Before we wrap up this issue, I feel the need to address the passing of Jane Goodall on October 1. In 2006, I picked up a book by Ms. Goodall that changed my life. Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating looked at the way we produce and consume our food. It examined a wide variety of food-related issues, such as the increasing corporate influences and the proliferation of factory farms. It advocated for support of local farmers and a return to organic and sustainable foods. Most of the book’s topic-focused chapters ended with a very specific section, “Here’s What You Can Do.”
Harvest for Hope was a key inspiration for my starting Edible Jersey in 2007, and it has remained an influence ever since. Jane Goodall deeply believed in the interconnectedness of all things and the obligation of humankind to protect and conserve our environment. Her work was built around treating all living beings with empathy and she was a powerful voice for local community-based advocacy.
Our planet has lost a champion. What a life you have lived, Ms. Goodall. Godspeed and thank you. And I hope we all can, in our own small ways, share your legacy forward.
And thank you, our readers, for joining us in 2025—and for sharing your passion for and support of NJ’s local food community. Best wishes to all for a wonderful holiday season and happy new year!
Sincerely,
Nancy Brannigan Painter
Editor & Publisher
