We’re still in the middle of the pandemic, and there’s uncertainty as it pertains to the supply and labor crises,” Britney Ruby Miller told me during our interview for the Last Word column. “Though I think there’s light at the end of the tunnel, restaurants still have so many challenges every day.” And those challenges are not limited to the hospitality industry.

Farmers—both commodity and market-scale growers—are still seeing some shortages of seed as we head into the 2022 growing season. Ranchers face difficulty finding facilities to process their animals. For new and experienced farmers, affordable land is beyond reach.

These types of challenges to our food system hit especially close to home for Edible Ohio Valley in recent weeks. For one, our local printer is feeling the labor pinch; following Covid-sparked layoffs in 2020, they are understaffed now that printing is ramping up again. For us, that means that this issue’s delivery to readers is likely to be delayed by several weeks beyond our usual schedule. Complicating matters, there are few printers in our region who can print the 25,000 copies we need at a price we can afford.

Then there’s paper. The closure of a major paper mill that produces our trademark uncoated stock means that this magazine will likely look and feel quite different after this issue. Thanks to the forestry industry’s pivot from paper suitable for books and magazines to cardboard for packaging (due to all of those online orders we place), we’re looking at a staggering cost increase if we don’t change paper. Everyone from colleges to seed companies is struggling to find paper.

Over the past two years, we’ve shared stories of chefs, growers, and retailers who’ve had to get creative and resourceful in order to thrive. We are doing the same. We’re a Cincinnati-owned business hustling right alongside our local food colleagues. And as always, we thank the advertisers, subscribers, contributors, sources, and readers who bring this publication to your kitchen tables.

Bryn Mooth, Editor
Edible Ohio Valley