In the Winter Holiday 2022 Issue 

Very fresh Nasketucket Bay, MA, oysters at Fresh Salt - Photo by Lisa Nichols

MISE EN PLACE ...
 

Giving back is an oft used phrase that for many of us means donating to Habitat for Humanity, the World Central Kitchen, or our local End Hunger CT! But shouldn’t it really be more than that? It should involve action - giving of our time and talents in our communities. Even when times are tough for us personally, that’s the time we should strive to do more.

We look at our own ways of giving back and always wonder if it’s enough. What more can we be doing to ensure a better world if only in our small area of that world? Every positive gesture we do gets multiplied in the universe. Can you be doing more? We definitely can and promise to do so.

Our two lead articles offer real world solutions to giving that are unparalleled in their inspiring approaches. First, we visit Forge City Works and their new restaurant Fire by Forge in Hartford.

Ben Dubow, Executive Director of FCW, updates on the teams’ mission. Their guiding light is “Food is the tool we use to empower.” The new restaurant will be an integral part of their mission as they expand on giving to the local community by, among other things, offering training and life-long teaching for locals seeking a career in the food industry.

And in “Giving is Living”, we look at the beautiful cycle of giving back by Lita and Matt Bondlow. They give back 30-fold to the Indonesian communities that hand-make all of the products at Bali Bungalow in Stonington.

If these stories alone don’t inspire you then, well never mind, they will inspire you! We would also love to hear your stories of inspiration! We’ll share them in a future issue and/or newsletter. Please email me at shane@ediblecteast.com

We also want to thank our new supporters this issue - Present Company in Tarriffville, the new Ignazio’s (The Pizza) from Brooklyn NY and now in Mystic, Atlantic Seafood in Old Saybrook, and the Thames River Gallery in New London, our first and only art gallery! We sincerely appreciate their support as they make the magazine possible for us all.

Of course, this is the season for giving but let’s all try to make it a constant in our lives. You and those you support will be the better for it.

Best,
R. Shane Kennedy
Publisher/Editor