In Our Fall 2020 Issue

Dear Reader,

It feels good to check in, and I hope you are doing OK. It’s been a long haul since March and it’s hard not to feel a little weary as we move into the fall season with more unknowns ahead of us.

Finding ways to provide comfort for one another is especially important right now—and that’s why our cover story comes from a place of caring and sharing. It profiles The Black Leaf Tea and Culture Shop founder, entrepreneur Amber Jackson, who based her enterprise on her family traditions in which teas are embraced for their restorative properties. She produces her own unique tea blends—including those on the cover—and shares her knowledge to produce soothing, comforting and reviving teas that you’ll want to share with friends and family alike. But there’s more to her story and more to Jackson’s business than tea. Read about her inspirations, motivations and future goals.

Since March, we have witnessed incredible tenacity and creativity from our local chefs and restaurateurs as they find new ways to do business, to give and to advocate—more proof of the talented and spirited food community that nourishes our little state. I hope you’ve been ordering lots of takeout and have made it to one of the many new outdoor dining options popping up on sidewalks, roadways and parking lots around the state. Our hospitality industry has been severely impacted by the pandemic and we need to continue ordering and dining to sustain our Rhody restaurants and those they employ. Read the personal story of one restaurant team’s experience getting back to “business as unusual.”

Pick-your-own berry farms saw many new and returning customers this summer, and autumn will be no different at our local orchards. Do you ever wonder about the science behind apples and how local orchardists keep up with ever-changing consumer taste like the current craze for Honeycrisp apples? Learn about the why’s and how’s.

We’ve still got time before farmers markets move indoors by late October, too. You’ll be inspired by the story of one outdoor urban market that puts strength back into its surrounding community through the growing, selling and cooking of delicious, nutritious local food.

And, as the indoor market season arrives by early November, change is afoot—exciting and quite literally groundbreaking change is happening in the Valley neighborhood in Providence, where Farm Fresh RI will be opening the wintertime farmers market inside its brand-new food hub. To get you the story, we caught up with the folks from Farm Fresh while construction was still in progress. We can’t wait to see the finished hall, filled with safely spaced local vendors and customers this coming indoor season. There are bound to be many smiling faces hiding behind those masks!

I hope you find time for that quiet cup of tea and for cooking up the fall recipes we have for you this autumn in print and online as we finally cool down after a hot, dry and unpredictable summer season.

Dig in!