Beta

Sep/Oct 2018

Letter From The Editor

One year ago, I interviewed Megan Kaun, a local activist who was leading a campaign to stop the use of Roundup and other glyphosate-based weed killers on public land across Sonoma County. We ran the story of the campaign in our November/ December 2017 issue, and it was quickly overshadowed by the tragic stories arising…
Market Share

The grocery business is notoriously tough—and corporate. Two new locally owned markets prove that small business owners are still in the ring If you’d asked me at the beginning of the 21st century whether small, locally owned businesses would still exist—much less be thriving—in 2018, I would probably have answered “no.” At the time, corporate…
Her Second Act

Leslie Goodrich left retired life to start a business. Now Lala’s Jam Bar and Urban Farmstand is thriving on Petaluma’s E. Washington Boulevard corridor In the 1920s, Leslie Goodrich’s grandmother landed on the shores of San Francisco with $5 in her pocket and a few treasured jam recipes sewn into the lining of her only…
Boots on the Ground

Foundations and the Future is elevating women’s voices in the American Food Movement Did you know that women grow more than half of the food produced in the world? Women are also a force to be reckoned with in the grassroots food movement, including food-centered academia, new farmer cohorts, and food advocacy organizations. Across the…
Public Possibilities

Community Soil Foundation is growing more than a garden on formerly neglected county-owned land If you’ve ever spent any amount of time around permaculturists—people who view nature as the ultimate design manual for gardening, building, and living— you’ve probably heard of a principle called “stacking functions.” This means the elements in any design should have…
Adventures in Drinking

Geyserville Gun Club: Asian Street Food Meets the Wild West Two years ago, chef Dino Bugica opened a sister business to Diavola, his rustic Italian restaurant in Geyserville, known across the Bay Area for its gourmet pies. Pizza wasn’t invited to the party. Bugica’s new venture, Geyserville Gun Club, serves up Asian street foodinspired bar…
How to Regenerate an Apple Orchard

Ethic Ciders and the quest for a rich, delicious existence in the now It helps to understand that Johnny Appleseed’s main gig was a land grab scheme. Born in the late 1700s, one John Chapman walked west ahead of North American expansion, planting apples to form orchards for pioneers who had been promised 100 acres…
My Favorite Eats

Exploring Sonoma County cities and towns with food-loving locals Name: Bob Guffanti Profession: Owner of Another Green World, Landscape Consultation and Design Location: Burbank Gardens neighborhood, Santa Rosa RESTAURANTS I’m not exactly a locavore, but I prefer to support local growers and producers of food with an emphasis on sustainable. Because of where I live,…
Locavortex: Out and About

Who doesn’t love a good map? In this hyper-digital era, old-fashioned paper maps hold the promise of true adventure and explorations of places otherwise missed with the quick scroll of a screen. Take the West Sonoma County Field Guide, a project born of Sebastopol native Lowell Sheldon’s desire to catalog—mainly for visiting friends—his favorite eating, drinking,…
Savorbang!

Welcome to our regular column from teacher and stand-up comedian Sarah Whitmore. Back-to-school season is upon us! In this installment, Sarah explores the kid politics of lunchboxes and gives us a recipe for guilt-free bars to go in them. Mork’s No-Bake Lunchbox Bars When I was little, lunchboxes were a big deal. In ﬁrst grade…