Letter from the Editor: Summer 2023

It’s been a privilege to work with the Edible Madison team over the past three years, bringing to life the delicious stories that make our local food community so unique and strong. I’m so grateful for the whole constellation of people who have made this opportunity possible: our publishers, Christy McKenzie and Cricket Redman, our sales team, the writers, photographers, designers, chefs, farmers, local business owners, advertisers, distributors and last (but certainly not least!) our readers.

While I’ve so enjoyed the work and the people it connects me to, lately, I have been feeling like I’ve been spreading myself a little too thin. So I’ve made the bittersweet decision to move over and let someone with fresh new energy for the project take over the managing editor position, and the someone we found is just perfect for the job!

It’s my pleasure to introduce you to Marissa DeGroot. Marissa has a strong professional background in communications, and she is thoroughly enmeshed in our region’s food community as a food writer for local publications and member of the Vitruvian Farms team, co-owned by her husband Tommy Stauffer. We can’t wait to see where she takes the magazine from here. As we’ve worked together on this issue, it’s been crystal clear to me that the future is bright.

Cheers!

Lauren Langtim
Former Managing Editor

I broke the cardinal rule of job offers—never accept right away, take a night to sleep on it—but when offered the opportunity to join the Edible Madison team, “yes” couldn’t escape my mouth fast enough. It has been a serendipitous pleasure joining Edible Madison in time to help produce the summer issue—one which spotlights the many ways our community is nourished through the gathering of good people around good food. My life has been shaped by gatherings such as these. My whole family would circle around a table for gyoza nights, everyone folding delicate dough around spoonfuls of pork and veggies. Some of my favorite summer afternoons are spent with friends at the farm, eating cherry tomatoes straight off the vine. Most recently, Tommy and I gather around the dinner table, enthralled while watching our daughter discover that cucumbers are her new favorite food. The individuals, organizations and gatherings featured in this issue of Edible Madison have left me feeling inspired and energized for issues to come. I look forward to using the power of stories to uplift the diversity, ingenuity and resiliency in our local food community.