In Issue #33 May/June 2020

EDIBLE NASHVILLE: AN ESSENTIAL SERVICE

Editor's Note
Food is our business. Our hearts go out to everyone in the hospitality industry out of work –those doing dishes, baking bread, operating small restaurants, the wait staff, the cooks, and everyone growing food. But our food community, with its endless creativity, sprang into action. Chefs took to the social media air waves with virtual cooking classes and restaurants set up delivery systems for social distancing. Neighborhood concerts popped up and restaurants donated meals to the front lines and those in need, including their out of work staff.

We’ve also been busy. We’ve been updating folks on restaurant pick-ups and take out and how to buy food from your local farmer and farmers market, all the while cooking on Instagram (@ediblenash) to keep everyone inspired. And like so many of you, we've been gardening (and keeping bees).

And there’s always a silver lining. One I’ve noticed is the reconnection with the outdoors. I’ve been running in my neighborhood for over 10 years and have never seen people out and about like now. Couples in gliders, long sunken into the yard and unkempt, kids writing with chalk on the street, a makeshift basketball court set up with a bench aside it, entire families riding bikes together, Enos hung in front yards. As the Captain said to Goldie Hawn in Overboard, “You Madame, have had the... rare privilege of escaping your bonds for just a spell. To see life from an entirely new perspective. How you choose to use that information.. is entirely up to you.” We’ve been able to see life from an entirely new perspective– a simpler time when a different generation had time to teach their kids to ride bikes, walk to the store, and bake bread.

As this issue goes to press, we’re not sure what the state of the world will be. Will we still be practicing “social distancing” or will we be gathering in a clump, thankful we made it through? Either way, one thing is sure—we all need to eat. Whether it's hunkered over a bowl of soup watching CNN or grilling with friends on a patio. If it wasn’t obvious before, it’s clearly obvious now that gathering is almost as vital for life as food. This issue celebrates that—food, gathering, and the human spirit that feeds us all.

With a lot of our normal distribution outlets closed and events cancelled, we’re challenged to get our magazine out. So we'd love to know how you got this copy you're reading. However you got it, we hope you find it beautiful, comforting, informative, and inspiring, all of which we need at this time. Send us an email at jill@ediblenashville.com

---Jill