In Our Spring 2021 Issue

Dear Reader,

Awaking to spring after a cold winter is always reason for hope and feelings of renewal—but doing so after this particularly long and dark winter and after the full year we’ve endured is reason for joy and outright triumph! We can take heart that the earth will reveal its splendor, green plants will sprout in gardens big and small and local farms will begin their bountiful season.

In this issue we’re celebrating the return of spring by heading out to the farms and gardens of Rhode Island, bringing you closer to people who are growing food for themselves, those who are growing food for their community and others who are gleaning food for neighbors in need.

Last spring, in one way or another, we all experienced the major breakdown in U.S. supply chains when grocery shelves were wiped clean of proteins and produce, not to mention paper products and cleaning supplies. As a result, people around the country turned to home and community gardening in droves with as many as 16 to 20 million new gardeners picking up a trowel and digging into the soil. Meet some of those gardeners on page 38 and learn how community gardens have the power to foster healthier communities—physically, emotionally, mentally and socially.

Just one of the consequences of Covid-19 has been the sharp rise in the number of Rhode Islanders seeking assistance from local food pantries and meal programs. One organization that is working with the Rhode Island Community Food Bank to ensure that food insecure individuals and families can be nurtured by fresh local produce is Hope’s Harvest RI, a nonprofit that organizes volunteers to glean produce from area farms. Meet founder and visionary Eva Agudelo on page 20 and learn how she and her volunteers delivered 215,000 pounds of local fruits and veggies into the hands of those who needed it most in 2020.

On page 16 you’ll meet Georgina Sarpong who, along with her partner Quincy Ansumana, turned a fallow city garden plot in Providence into an urban farm oasis. Sarpong spent several years working at Farm Fresh RI learning about local food systems before starting her own farm. She provides an important resource for fresh foods to her surrounding neighborhood, which is especially significant given the repercussions of job losses, quarantining and other impacts brought by Covid-19.

We’re all in the mood for good news, and the story on page 26 offers some good news for restaurants and consumers alike. Did you ever wish you could dip into your favorite eatery’s secret sauce or special spice blend to elevate your everyday cooking? Learn how over two dozen local restaurants are creating shelf-stable and frozen food products for retail sale through the Dish Up RI initiative—”our state to your plate”—and find out how you can get your hands on all these tempting new foodstuffs.

Publisher John Schenck and I are happy to be serving up another edition of Edible Rhody for you this season. It has been a harrowing year for us all and we’re so glad to be here with you, celebrating the arrival of spring, the continued rollout of vaccines and the light growing brighter at the end of a long tunnel.