Hello Reader,

When one stands in a supermarket, it’s easy to forget that those great pyramids of produce—the perfect stacks of celery stalks, the bunches of cilantro glistening from the misters, the mountains of shiny apples in shades of red and green—didn’t just appear there. Someone—often many someones—grew that broccoli or those potatoes. And if you’re very lucky, they grew that food with care and devotion, paying attention to the crops, the weather, the health of the soil.

All the food we buy at the shop (or hopefully, the farmers market) is handled multiple times by these hard-working folks dedicated to agriculture. We’re very fortunate to live in a state with huge swaths of fertile farmland, orchards and ranches. We have a storied agricultural history, though not without blemish.

In this issue, we shine a light on a new wave of people farming in Puget Sound, and how agriculture for them is so much more than just growing food. In “The Next Generation,” Jesse Fukumoto speaks to the farmers at Makanai Farm in Sedro-Woolley, who are connecting to their heritage as Japanese American farmers post-incarceration. We talk to SisterLand Farms in Port Angeles, which is working hard to break down oppressive systems while growing delicious produce.

So the next time you head out to do your grocery shopping, consider all the people who made your food possible. “Buy local” is a common refrain here at Edible, but it bears repeating. Consider how far the items you buy had to travel to reach your hand, and maybe strive to find something closer to home. Support the farmers in your region, and if you are able, share your abundance with your community. We’re all richer for it.

We hope you enjoy these stories. As always, thank you for reading.

Lindsay Kucera
Editor