Issue #40 Fall 2017

Parks & Rec Diner, Detroit

One of my favorite stories to tell is the result of our Local Hero contest. This award is always so meaningful because all the awardees are nominated by our readers. We run the contest once a year, as we have since 2008. 

What we’ve noticed is that every year, the number of nominations has steadily increased, and what this tells me is that people are paying attention. More people care about where their food comes from and who distributes it. 

I’d like to think that Edible WOW has been part of that trend. We’ve been telling the stories of this area’s farmers, food and beverage artisans, bakers, brewers and chefs for nearly 10 years. Our coverage area started with Wayne, Oakland and Washtenaw counties—that’s where the WOW comes from—but we’ve expanded to include all of Southeast Michigan. 

The fact that we’ve had local heroes from Jackson County (Sandhill Crane Vineyards), Macomb (Rising Stars Academy), Ingham (Titus Farms) and Lapeer (Gina Maria Westfall), in addition to many from our core WOW counties, shows how much our readership has spread. 

As long as you stay interested, we’ll keep telling the stories of the people and places making their mark on the local food scene. For those of you who want more WOW in between issues, follow us on Facebook, attend one of our events or visit our newly designed website.

—Chris Hardman, Executive Editor