An Ode to Idaho Women: Publisher's Letter Fall 2018

From its beginning, Edible Idaho’s mission has been to celebrate the food culture throughout the state and the full spectrum of people who play roles in feeding us. In your hands is our first-ever Women’s Issue, replete with gleaming faces of some of Idaho’s many women who nurture our bodies and minds with their talents and hard work.

I would have thought by now, well into the 21st century, that dedicating a special issue to women in food shouldn’t be necessary; that any woman’s contribution would be fully valued for its positive impact alone rather than discounted because of its maker’s sex. Sadly, that is not the case. A subset of our population continues to define a woman’s role inequitably, unable or unwilling to afford women the same respect routinely given to men. Our hope, by celebrating women in this context, is to encourage community, conversation and understanding.

Confident, collaborative and creative are adjectives I would use to describe the women we feature in our publication: Confident. Contributor Karley Walker shares Jessica Harrold’s quest to create natural beauty products without sacrificing her love of farming. As the proprietor of APIS, Harrold produces a natural cosmetics line of salves and balms, and while Walker describes her “as all honey and no sting,” it takes quite a bit of grit and determination to stay true to your passion and fashion a business from it. In “Pressed for Success”, Carissa Wolf explores the stories of women winemakers in Idaho, who in addition to crediting the role of great soil and climate in their success, also count on the camaraderie they share to produce award-winning wines.

Collaborative. Casey O’Leary’s story on Telara Oliver of Idahome Bakery and her quest to create delectable gluten-free treats extends the theme of women working together and supporting each other. Without the community of women Oliver discovered, it would have been much more difficult to start her own business and strive to fulfill her mission of wanting to make food that’s not just gluten free but actually healthy. something you can feel good about putting in your body.”

Creative. Collaboration allows creativity as Beth Rasgorshek of Canyon Bounty Farm discovered as she has reinvented herself throughout life. After years of practicing journalism, she became a pioneering CSA farmer. Then, by letting herself fluctuate according to the ebb and flow of farming, she morphed into a flour producer and is now a leading organic seed farmer.

Is Edible Idaho attaching itself to a current trend? Perhaps. It is also our way of celebrating all the positive human contributions to our local food system and culture. 

Claudia Sánchez Mahedy | @claudiasanchezmahedy
Publisher