provisions

COVER photography: Elizabeth Hannah Studios featuring Zoë Taylor’s Sweet Potato Cranberry Cake with Kefir Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate & Salty Pecans. 

More than 22 million pages of content in 403,000+ printed magazines, 31 issues distributed throughout Central Indiana, over 33,000 followers and hundreds of thousands of people reached. This is what our Edible Indy team has accomplished over the last eight years of producing quarterly publications. What started out as a new and exciting opportunity to build on supporting local food has turned into a journey much deeper and more emotional than we ever expected.

My urban husband and children became educated about edible landscaping; the joy, pain and sometimes humor of raising chickens and roosters; the failures and successes of growing and harvesting food for our family; and the experience of traveling to off-the-beaten-path places all over the country. All these provided us with our own stories to tell.

In these magazines we have explored mushroom and goat farming, alpaca yoga, the making of elk bacon, head-to-tail no-waste butchering, how to make your own charcoal, what it takes to be a healthy linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts, tales of foraging wild weeds in the backyard and making unfamiliar yet delightful dishes at home to wow the foodies in your life. We have told stories that make you smile, stories that make you think and even stories that resonate deep within your heart and soul.

We have told you stories with the hope and honor you will remember and share them with those around you. That they make an impact in your ideology of community, love and kindness. We have shared our happiness as well as our pain publicly in a deliberate manner to humanize who we are and how our choices impact people near and far. We have advocated for those who need it and sometimes for those who don’t. We have stood strong against the disfunction of the world and the harm it does to the generations around us—and we have taken lashings for it a time or two.

Our intention has always been to make a positive impact, big or small, by owning Edible Indy. In choosing to work with some of the most brilliant writers, photographers, artists and editors, we have kept to our intention. Positive infl uence brings positive light. We may not always see it day to day, but those times when we do see it last an eternity in my heart.

I want to take a moment to give thanks to my adoring husband, Jeff, and my daughters Wrigley and Mara for being a part of this ride. Without your encouragement, love and dedication “the zoo” we purchased eight years ago would not be as fulfi lling as it has been. My family and close friends who have listened to me cry, laugh and be crazy all these years, I am indebted to you. To my dear friends Francine, Colleen and Shauna who doubled as my managing editors, Cheryl my amazing designer, and Doug the best copy editor ever: You all have inspired me to reach down into my soul to be the best I could be and to strive to deliver issues of which I am unbelievably proud. All of our writers, photographers and artists who have given your time, energy and support throughout these years with enthusiasm: You are the foundation of why this publication is part of my heart. And to all of the partners over the year who have fostered us with your support of advertising and sponsorship which has allowed us to be storytellers and creators: thank you.

I am grateful for the friends I have made along the way, the people who have touched my life in ways they may not even know, those who have made me look deeper at why the interrelation between our community, our loved ones, the earth is not to be taken lightly but rather embraced. Our stories of light outweigh the dark. This Edible community has given me so much over the years. With this I close and say, ciao ciao. We must take a beat—a pause, if you will—until the next rabble rousers show up to champion this publication and take it to greater heights. We hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as we have, for the next one will be even more long and winding. We are grateful, humbled and honored.

With love and gratitude, 
Jennifer and Jeff Rubenstein, 
Publishers