Winter 2019 Issue

I write this issue’s Grist for the Mill with a heavy heart, and at the same time filled with gratitude that no human lives were lost in the recent Kincade Fires that ravaged sections of Sonoma County.

It feels surreal that our community finds itself in a state of deep loss, and fear, once again—for the fourth year in a row. The home of a dear friend that narrowly escaped the fires two years ago was not as lucky this time, and burned the night the fires began. Thankfully, her family was not at home at the time. The animal rescue ranch owned by another friend also burned, but all of the animals were evacuated to safety.

Julia Jackson, environmental warrior and daughter of Barbara Banke and the late Jess Jackson, proprietors of Jackson Family Wines, also lost her home in the Kincade Fires. The founder of Grounded, an environmental organization dedicated to bringing together the best minds on the planet to solve the climate crisis (Grounded.org), Jackson’s social media posts since the fire evidence her impassioned mission to affect real change. Godspeed, Ms. Jackson.

I, and we all, have to hope, trust and pray that these latest fires, and the rushed evacuations of hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, and the same in Southern California, and the massive power and cell tower outages that disrupted lives and livelihoods throughout our community, are a watershed moment in our understanding of the gravity of the climate crisis—and the imperative to act now. Right now. It is too late to simply “sustain.” We must regenerate.

You’ll hear more about good food and drink businesses doing good, including being part of the fight against climate change through regenerative farming, carbon sequestration on ranchlands and zero-waste restaurant operations in our Summer 2020 issue, but in the meantime I want to give a huge shout out to the many grocers, restaurateurs, chefs and other food and drink producers in our area who jumped in, immediately and generously, to provide nourishing meals to evacuees, first responders and those just in need of a place to gather for some sense of normalcy in an unreal time during the recent fires.

I plan to make a special effort this holiday season, and beyond, to show them how much I appreciate all that they bring to our community. They need us to fill their restaurants, grocery and farmers’ market aisles, and to seek out their locally made products. Spoiler alert: Our 11th annual Edible Gift Guide in this issue is an excellent place to start!