Weathering Storms
This past week, I spoke with growers who were readying for hurricane Debby. It’s such an innocuous sounding name, Debby, and though our region doesn’t brush against the ocean, the storms Debby brings may still wreak havoc on our food systems. From fruit splitting from too much water, to root rot, to flash floods from parched soils, growers spent this past week preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Some farmers chose to pick fruit early. Some put up structures to protect against wind damage. They worked long hours out in the field and then like many of us, they still had to prepare their homes for potential flooding.
All this work happened during National Farmers Market Week. A time devoted to honoring the importance of farmers markets and those who grow our food. For the first time in history, both the U.S. Senate and House recognized National Farmers Market Week through a bi-partisan resolution. In a time where everything feels divisive, I take comfort that we can still come together to support our growers and give them the recognition they deserve. This weekend, visit a market close to you, ask the person behind the stall how they are doing, how their business weathered the storms, and share how much their work means to you.
Welcome to the Edible Blue Ridge newsletter that brings you food stories from our region and beyond. You're receiving this email because you've purchased a magazine subscription—thank you!—or you signed up via our online form. If you need to opt out at any time, there's a link at the bottom. We're glad you're here.
Thanks for reading, happy eating, and enjoy your weekend,
Lisa - Publisher & Editor
EVENTS
Have an event you’d like us to share? Email: info@edibleblueridge.com
8.10 Starry Nights - Afton
8.17 Honey Fest - Botetourt
8.17 Craft Beer Month Celebration at Devil’s Backbone Basecamp - Roseland
8.24 Southwest Virginia Bee Festival - Roanoke
8.31 Tomato Fest - Harrisonburg
9.06-9.15 Beaver Dam Sunflower Festival - Buchanan
WHAT WE’RE COOKING
MORE TO CHEW ON
🥪 While kids are on summer vacation, community members and local nonprofits ensure they still have enough to eat. - from Civil Eats
Edible Blue Ridge contributor Heidi Chaya reports on working in a slaughterhouse for Modern Farmer 🥩
It’s blueberry season! 🫐 What are the health benefits of this beloved berry? - The Atlantic
POEM OF THE WEEK
Cannery Town in August by Lorna Dee Cervantes All night it humps the air. Speechless, the steam rises from the cannery columns. I hear the night bird rave about work or lunch, or sing the swing shift home. I listen, while bodyless uniforms and spinach specked shoes drift in monochrome down the dark moon-possessed streets. Women who smell of whiskey and tomatoes, peach fuzz reddening their lips and eyes— I imagine them not speaking, dumbed by the can’s clamor and drop to the trucks that wait, grunting in their headlights below. They spotlight those who walk like a dream, with no one waiting in the shadows to palm them back to living. “Cannery Town in August” from Emplumada by Lorna Dee Cervantes, © 1981. All rights are controlled by the University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. Used by permission of the University of Pittsburgh Press.
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