Holiday 2012 / Winter 2022

Winter always strikes me as two-faced. Which is fitting because we commonly associate the Roman god Janus with the month of January. Janus was the god of transitions, of beginnings and endings. In art, he is depicted with two faces gazing in opposite directions.

(In fact, January is named after the goddess Juno. But I’m sticking with my Janus metaphor.)

The six weeks or so that surround the end of the year certainly vacillate between two extremes. We humans are busybusybusy preparing (overpreparing?) for the holidays. Meanwhile, the natural world slows down. Days shorten, farm fields lie fallow, birds migrate, animals hibernate.

We’d be smart, I think, to take some cues from the wild world during winter, to use this period to find quiet, to regenerate, to lay the groundwork for what is to come.

Groundwork, in fact, is a good frame for many of the stories in this issue. After nearly two years of upheaval, folks in the local food system are beginning to lay the foundation for what’s next. Planting restorative cover crops, as it were.

Take Jon Branstrator, whose Clarksville, OH, farm is marking its 200th year in the family. Jon’s is an important voice in the Ohio Valley farming community, and he’s using his land to its highest purpose while preserving it for future generations. As the Edible Communities signature section (climate change and agriculture) investigates, small-scale farmers and ranchers across North America play an important on-the-ground role in mitigating climate change. So, too, do local gardeners whose backyards form a larger web that supports our fragile planet. And you might be surprised to learn that the region’s largest school district lays the groundwork for student learning and supports farmers by purchasing local food. All are essential steps in our collective march toward better health, for us and for Earth.

While this issue is not holiday-focused, it comes to you during a time of celebration. Our Edible Ohio Valley family wishes yours an abundance of joy, well-being—and peace and quiet.

On the Cover Ohio Blue Clarage corn at Branstrator Farm Photo by Gina Weathersby

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