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Magazine whets appetite for locally produced food
By Dennis Quick
Senior Staff Writer
Robert and Amanda Manning are getting the word out that the Lowcountry is a cornucopia of savory, homegrown food.
The husband-and-wife team are dispensing that message through Edible Lowcountry, a magazine produced quarterly focusing on Lowcountry food harvesters and producers, Lowcountry chefs cooking with local food, the food itself and just about everything else food lovers care to know about the region’s distinctive culinary flavor.
With Robert as publisher and Amanda as editor, Edible Lowcountry debuts April 15 in grocers, farmers’ markets, restaurants, tourist centers, select retailers, galleries, hotels and at food events. The magazine’s subscription rate is $28 per year.
Edible Lowcountry’s purpose is to support the local food industry, according to the Mannings, owners of Carolina FoodPros, which promotes South Carolina’s culinary heritage through restaurant and market tours, special events and by selling gift boxes filled with Palmetto State food products.
From Muscadine grapes to collard greens, from peaches to shrimp and golden rice, Edible Lowcountry steers regional residents and tourists alike to the farmers’ markets, vineyards, select stores and restaurants where distinctive Lowcountry foods can be purchased and enjoyed.
“We want to connect consumers with producers,” said Amanda Manning.
The magazine will number about 34 pages and include feature stories, essays and local book reviews. Departments range from “Out to Sea,” focusing on the local fishing industry and seafood, to “From the Land,” featuring farmers and their harvest, to “Melting Pot,” highlighting ethnic groups that have contributed to Lowcountry cuisine.
The magazine’s coverage stretches from Myrtle Beach to Savannah and extends 70 miles inland. The first issue will put the food spotlight on the Charleston area and will feature, among other topics, the Lowcountry Food Bank’s Growing Food Locally program, in which local farmers grow up to 1.5 million pounds of vegetables each year for the food bank to distribute to coastal South Carolina’s hungry.
Edible communities
Edible Lowcountry is an affiliate of Edible Communities Inc., a publications company based in Ojai, Calif. There are 20 Edible Communities magazines spanning the nation, from Edible Ojai, which debuted in 2002 as the first Edible Communities publication, to Edible East End in Long Island, N.Y.
Edible Communities’ mission is to “transform the way communities shop for, cook, eat and relate to the food that is grown and produced in their area.”
The company believes people should buy food produced in their communities because locally produced food tends to be fresher, tastier and healthier.
“Most food travels about 1,500 miles from the farm to the plate,” said Amanda Manning, adding that flavor and nutrition often fade during the time it takes the food to make the journey.
The Mannings define “local” as within a day’s drive.
Buying locally grown and produced food keeps local farmers in business, the Mannings pointed out. According to Edible Communities, one reason full-time farmers comprise less than 1% of the U.S. workforce is that farmers get less than 10 cents on the retail food dollar while farming costs have increased, driving some farmers out of business.
Buying local food products cuts out many middlemen costs and provides a greater financial return to family farms.
“Every dollar spent locally is circulated between four and 11 times,” said Robert Manning, explaining that food growers and producers spend the money they make from their products on goods and services within the community.
Buying in
Amanda Manning first heard about Edible Communities a few years ago during a food and nutrition conference in Washington, D.C. Edible Ojai had been named among Saveur food-and-wine magazine’s Top 100 food-related entities from around the world, thus sparking interest in U.S. food lovers to start Edible Communities publications.
The Mannings paid a $75,000 membership license agreement fee to Edible Communities to launch Edible Lowcountry and began planning the magazine a year ago.
Dennis Quick is senior staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dquick@charlestonbusiness.com.
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