FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8 February 2007

Portland, OR - Edible Communities - a network of regional food magazines that champion the current national trend of eating locally grown, placed-based foods, with compelling stories about farmers, fishers, vintners, chefs and food artisans-honored their publishers from around the country with Awards of Excellence in Publishing ("Eddy Awards") during the company's annual meeting held in Portland, Oregon last week.

Edible Communities publishes magazines from Cape Cod to San Francisco and everywhere in between, currently representing 26 distinct culinary regions, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Santa Fe, Iowa, Twin Cities, Memphis, Sacramento and several others. With an annual readership of just over seven million, Edible Communities is the nation's leading publisher of information about the rapidly expanding local foods movement.

According to Edible Communities co-founders, Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian, this year's annual meeting was a highlight of their collective publishing careers. "Each of our magazines is doing an outstanding job of providing consumers with valuable information about local foods. They're full of well-written and visually appealing articles that make a compelling case for why people everywhere should know where their food comes from," said Topalian.

THIS YEAR'S AWARD WINNERS:

Edible Communities awarded ten "Eddy" Awards for excellence in publishing for 2007, in eight categories, as well as a special award for Outstanding Community Service, named The Langeland Award, for Doug and Dianne Langeland, publishers of Edible Cape Cod and the first recipients of this ongoing annual award. The winners and categories for this year's awards were:

• Best Editorial Feature Length (category tied) - "An Interview with Paula Wolfert," written by Bruce Cole, publisher/editor of Edible San Francisco, and "Shlepping Seltzer," written by Rachel Wharton, contributing writer to Edible Brooklyn.
• Best Editorial Shorter Length - Written by Marilee Foster, contributing writer to
  Edible East End, for her ongoing column: "Farm Girl Angst."
• Best Column National Focus - Written by Michael Ruhlman, author of The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen (2006), for his article entitled: "Voting Independent: Your Local Grocer Can Save the World."
• Best Column Creation (category tied) - "The Brooklyn Fridge," created by Gabrielle Langholtz, editor, Edible Brooklyn, and "Edible Traditions," created by Michelle Hueser and Carol Banks, editor and publisher of Edible Twin Cities.
• Best E-newsletter or website feature - Edible Cape Cod's bi-monthly E-newsletter.
• Best Cover - Edible Santa Fe, Summer 2006. Photographer: Carole Topalian.
• Best Creative Idea - Robert Manning, publisher of Edible Lowcountry and Edible Atlanta for his Advertising Sales Catalogue, which is now being used by all Edible Communities publishers nationwide.
• Best Advertisement - Whole Foods Market advertisement, Fall 2006 issue, Edible Brooklyn. Ad copy reads: "How good is the food that comes from Brooklyn? Let's just say the Dodgers haven't had a decent meal since 1957."
• The Langeland Award for Outstanding Community Service - Awarded for the first time in 2007 to Edible Cape Cod publishers Doug and Dianne Langeland, and named for them, this award is now a permanent Edible Communities award to be given annually to the publisher who provides their local food community with the most community service. Since they began publishing Edible Cape Cod in the summer of 2004, the Langelands have held Board positions for local food events and farmers markets, helped establish the Cape Land & Sea Harvest (CLASH), an annual three-day event that takes place in the fall, participated in The Night of 100 Wines, Taste of the Cape, host an annual Growers & Chefs Collaborative, and in October of last year, they received the Best New Business Award for a business three years or younger from the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce at its annual members meeting.

In addition to the Eddy Awards, several edible magazines awarded "Local Hero Awards" to members of their individual communities who make significant contributions to the local foods movement for that region. Local Hero Awards were given in the following categories: best farmer, rancher, forager; best chef; best food or beverage artisan, best non-profit organization; best restaurant; and best retailer.

Visit the awards page at www.ediblecommunities.com/awards for complete listing of all 2007 Edible Communities award recipients.

ABOUT EDIBLE COMMUNITIES:

Founded in May of 2004, by photographer, Carole Topalian and graphic designer, Tracey Ryder, Edible Communities is a dynamic and growing network of regional food publications that celebrate the abundance of local foods, season by season, in distinct culinary regions across the United States.

We believe that knowing where our food comes from is a powerful thing. By producing high-quality, aesthetically pleasing, and editorially knowledgeable publications, we inspire readers to support and celebrate the growers, producers, food artisans, chefs, and other food professionals from within their particular community.

ABOUT THE MAGAZINES:

Each Edible Communities magazine is locally owned and operated by talented publishers who are recognized leaders in each of the communities they publish in. The editorial content for each magazine is also unique to the area, seasonally focused, and written by local writers who are passionate about their local foodsheds. Each magazine is published quarterly, with the seasons.

CONTACT: Tracey Ryder, President & CEO
Edible Communities, Inc.
Toll Free: (800) 652-4217
Email: tracey@ediblecommunities.com