Letter from the Editor: Summer 2019

First off, congratulations to the Edible Milwaukee team for their recognition at the 2019 Milwaukee Press Club Awards. It was a true honor to win a Gold award for “The Power of Langar,” a story written by Pardeep Singh Kaleka, and a Silver award for a photo taken by Chloé Wright, which was featured in the story “Immigrant Wheat,” by Charlie Tennessen. I’d also like to commend Managing Editor Melissa Holck and Creative Director/Photographer Paul Oemig, whom were vital to the issue’s success. In that particular issue which featured stories from the Immigrant community, our team put in many late and stressful nights to make sure we lived up to the potential of the stories within the magazine. The sole focus at Edible Milwaukee is storytelling and not awards, but to be recognized by our peers in the journalism community is humbling for us all. This honor will keep pushing us to strive for greatness in each magazine we publish. Thanks again to the Milwaukee Press Club and the judging panel.

Two years ago when we took over Edible Milwaukee, we were the challenging position of trying to weave our own unique style into a magazine that people in the community already loved and respected. The news of our transition unfortunately turned several long time advertisers away due to the uncertainty. In our market, it is critical to have financial support from the local business community, or else it can be very difficult running an independent local publication. Luckily some incredible businesses stayed on board and gave our team a chance, encouraging our new creative approach. My goal as Publisher and Editor in Chief was to share the pages of our magazine with as many of the voices and visionaries in our community as possible. I wanted our magazine to be a diverse collection of people and artists that had stories to share. To me, it wasn’t important for our writers to be professional, they just needed to tell a good story. While we are technically a food magazine, the stories we tell are universal and if there is anything that can bring everyone to the same table, it’s food. We use food as a device to tell powerful stories like in the case of “The Power of Langar,” a story about the 2012 Sikh Temple shooting, that have a chance to impact our community and bring people together.

The theme of our summer issue is “Art,” and that is a big driving force for us at the magazine. The following stories are only a tiny glimpse into how our food and art communities work together. Supporting the arts has always been a personal focus of mine, and it is something I’ve been able to explore as an independent television producer and magazine publisher. Milwaukee’s artist community is starving for work, and it is an honor to work with and support as many of them as possible through our magazine (and television show). Making sure independent artists have an environment to not only work on a professional level but also to make money is a critical culture to foster. Please consider supporting not only local food producers but also local artists, storytellers, and businesses.