Timeline of Highlights from 20 Years in Publishing
The Prequel: Edible Ojai
Edible East Bay, reached its 20-year milestone with the publication of its Fall 2025 issue. To celebrate, we have created this 20-year timeline of highlights to look at what we have done and were we are going. The story has a prequel, so we’re taking you back to 2002 and the creation of Edible Ojai…
2002: Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian are living in the magical town of Ojai, California, enjoying the agricultural riches of Ventura County and all the great food that’s cooked and crafted there. They have the idea to publish a quarterly newsletter celebrating their good fortune, and so they put out their first issue of Edible Ojai. It’s 16 pages and printed in one color on good-quality off-white paper. “The goal of this newsletter,” they write, “is to be a resource for our community that makes eating, growing, and enjoying our local abundance an everyday pleasure.”
2004: Saveur magazine features Edible Ojai in its “Top 100” January/February issue. Ryder and Topalian seize the day and conceive of Edible Communities as a network of licensed magazines and websites devoted to celebrating local, seasonal food. Edible Cape Cod becomes the second title, and by year’s end, five more magazines are launched.
2005: Ryder and Topalian tap two Bay Area journalists, Cheryl Angelina Koehler and Bruce Cole, to launch Edible East Bay and Edible San Francisco respectively. Both magazines debut in the fall with cover photos by Carole Topalian.
Fall 2025: Carole Topalian’s photos of a ripe olive and oyster shucking grace the covers of Edible East Bay and Edible San Francisco’s inaugural issues.
Edible East Bay: 2005 to 2025
2005: For our premier issue, Edible East Bay editor Cheryl Angelina Koehler visits farmer Kristie Knoll at Knoll Organics in Brentwood. Wearing a T-shirt with the words “Dirt First,” Knoll explains a basic of organic farming: “As plants take nutrients out of the soil, you need to put them back. It’s like a savings account.”
2005: Derrick Schneider, who has been writing on food and wine for national publications, contributes to our premier issue with a story on Berkeley-based chefs Christopher Lee and Taylor Boetticher. The two have been working on the leading edge of a new trend in locally handcrafted charcuterie.
Winter 2006—Sliced lemon by photographer Carole Topalian | Spring 2006—Tomato vines by photographer Carole Topalian | Summer 2006—“Garlic” by printmaker David Lance Goines; Fall 2006—Backyard pears by editor Cheryl Angelina Koehler
2006: For our second issue, Romney Steele (now chef/co-owner of Oakland’s The Cook and Her Farmer) covers the Edible Schoolyard plus two school garden programs in Hayward. When Steele asks a young student what he likes about the garden, he puts aside his journal and says, “You take care of the plants. They’re very important to the world. They give us good food and keep us strong.” Then he goes back to journaling: apples, pineapples, tomatoes….
2006: Celebrated printmaker David Lance Goines (1945–2023) offers his garlic poster for the cover of our fourth issue. Shortly after, we begin a long tradition of using our cover space to feature local artists. Adria Peterson’s luminous oranges grace our Spring 2007 issue and for Fall 2007, Oakland’s Creative Growth Art Center offers a pear painting by renowned artist Dan Miller, a member of this art program where the mission is to “advance the inclusion of artists with developmental disabilities.” Artist, grower, and Edible East Bay art and gardening editor Helen Krayenhoff paints a still life for our Winter 2008 issue. Then we welcome local artist and landscaper Ivan Schvarts for Spring 2008. Our long collaboration with beloved local artist Margo Rivera-Weiss (1960–2019) begins with our 2008 Harvest issue.
2006: Derrick Schneider covers the enormous impact of Alameda-based Rosenblum Cellars founder Kent Rosenblum on California winemaking.
2006: On a visit to Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, Koehler learns more about the deep commitment of small local farmers to the soil and to feeding local people. Farmer Al Courchesne says, “To grow food, you always need soil, and to feed 10 billion people, you need a lot of agricultural space.”
2006: “The People’s Grocery Mobile Market broadcasts a hip-hop beat to attract urban customers to its graffiti-clad storefront,” writes contributor Paul Supkoff as he introduces readers to a food justice movement in full swing in West Oakland. “The guiding dictum of this community enterprise is ‘Healthy Food for Everyone.’”
Winter 2007—Cupcakes by writer/photographer Anita Chu | Spring 2007—Orange tree by painter Adria Peterson | Summer 2007—Dinner at Indus Village, Berkeley | Fall 2007: “Pear” by artist Dan Miller of Creative Growth Art Center, Oakland
2007: Paul Supkoff’s Fall 2007 story titled “California Grasses and Cattle Ranching: Parallel Changes in our East Bay Universe” is published days after this warm and insightful writer passes away at age 47.
Paul Supkoff (photo by Laura Ciapponi) Local Foods Wheel
2007: Oxford University Press chooses “locavore” as their Word of the Year. The term was coined by longtime Edible East Bay contributor Jessica Prentice, a founder of Berkeley’s Three Stone Hearth and a co-inventor of the Local Foods Wheel.
2007: To cover the 20th anniversary of the Berkeley Farmers’ Market, writer Kimber Simpkins-Nuccio talks to then–market manager Kirk Lumpkin, who says, “[The market] doesn’t just feed my face. I’ve never found any place happier to be.”
2007: Edible East Bay wins a MarCom International Platinum Award for “excellence and creativity in the communications field.”
2007: Pixie mandarin grower Lisa Brenneis writes a “valentine” to Berkeley’s Monterey Market, praising the market for helping small California growers by buying their produce directly rather than through distributors.
Winter 2007–2008—Winter produce by artist Helen Krayenhoff | Spring 2008—by artist and landscape designer Ivan Shvarts | Summer Harvest 2008—Apples by painter Margo Rivera-Weiss (1960–2019) | Fall/Winter 2008—Carrots by printmaker Linda Pedersen (1947–2018)
2008: The Food Craft Institute launches its first Eat Real Festival. The aim is “to educate the public about how local food is grown, manufactured, and prepared.” The Fest sparks new interest in pop-up and truck-based sales venues and eateries. While taco trucks have been around for decades, a diverse new generation of food trucks soon becomes ubiquitous in urban areas.
2008: Journalist Matthew Green reports on the Sunol AgPark, where members of East Oakland’s lu Mien community are growing their heritage vegetables.
2008: Matthew Green covers the “freegans,” a leftist-leaning crowd that’s embraced dumpster diving both as a thrifty lifestyle and as a way to directly address what they argue is a rampantly wasteful food system.
Spring 2009—Apricot tree by painter JP Panter, Thistle Creek Studio | Summer 2009—detail of a painting by Lorrie Fink | Fall Harvest 2009—Tomatoes by painter Luz Marina Ruiz | Winter 2009–2010—print from a cabbage series by Rosalie Z. Fanshel
2009: “Cooking with Big Mind: How I Survived Zen Cooking Boot Camp” wins contributor (and KPFA radio personality) Mary Tilson the Edible Communities EDDY Award (now Best of Edible) for Best Short Feature.
2009: Serena Bartlett interviews Lev Kilun, founder and maker of Lev’s Kombucha. His lightly fermented drink is one of the first of the genre to become commercially available in the Bay Area.
2009: Eve Fox reviews Farm City, the new bestselling novel by Oakland “squat farmer” Novella Carpenter. “[She] takes us soul-searching through such topics as race, class, and rural-versus-urban divisions; what it means to be a carnivore; and how raising your own animals for food changes that dynamic.” Carpenter is a co-founder of Berkeley’s Biofuel Oasis (now Urban Farm Oasis).
Spring 2010—”Sharing Lunch Break” by painter Shari Arai DeBoer | Summer 2010—Bowl of cherries by watercolorist Wendy Yoshimura; | Fall Harvest 2010—Green beans in gouache resist by artist Kieren Dutcher | Winter 2010-2011—Olive tree mosaic by Olive Gina Dominguez
2010: Jessica Prentice begins her long-running “Seven Stars” column, which builds on the concepts of her Local Foods Wheel.
2010: From his vantage point in Emeryville as a designer with Pixar, Derrick Schneider writes an amusing account of how a migration of interesting new food trucks into his office area has been a lunch-hour game changer.
Helen Krayenhoff’s illustrations for “Pomegranate Passages” and “Bugs in the Balance”
2010: Writer Susan Unger’s paean to her backyard pomegranate tree comes along with a recipe for pomegranate jalapeño jelly that’s been an online reader favorite. Helen Krayenhoff creates a glorious illustration for the story.
2010: Elizabeth Linhart Money’s story “Koda Farms: A Family History in Rice” wins the Edible Communities EDDY Award for Best Historical Subject.
2010: Sustainability is on our minds as editorial associate Rachel Trachten visits various markets to learn how they are working toward zero waste.
2010: Contributor Sage Dilts discusses alternative business models with Full Belly Farm, Three Stone Hearth, and Forage SF for a story titled “Community Supported, Community Scale: CSA and the Value of Meaningful Work.”
2010: In “Bugs in the Balance,” artist, grower, and gardening writer Helen Krayenhoff makes the argument for a garden that welcomes all creatures to the feast.
Spring 2011—Lemons by artist Helen Krayenhoff | Summer 2011—stained glass bee by farmer K. Ruby Blume | Fall 2011—Apples by artist Celia Wedding | Winter 2011-2012—rendering for costume designs by Ariel Parkinson
2011: In “Give and Take: The East Bay’s Growing Food-Sharing Culture” and “Made from Scratch: Commercial Kitchens with a Community Focus,” contributor Sarah Henry talks with locals who are building businesses and friendships around local food production.
2011: Contributor Jess Watson launches a series on the subject of urban farming as Oakland contemplates a “bill of rights” for urban farmers.
2011: Stephanie Rosenbaum pens one of our all-time favorite stories: “Fist of Flour: An East Oakland Pizza Obsession.”
2011: The James Beard Foundation announces its first-ever Publication of the Year Award. In bestowing the award on Edible Communities, the Foundation recognizes the combined Edible publications “as a valuable resource for exploring the impact of regional food and agriculture from a grassroots perspective…. [The organization’s] body of work reflects excellence in the ever-changing world of food journalism.”
2011: Edible East Bay gains an international audience online with Patricia Hayse Haller’s “Teff, Gomen, Mitmita, Senefgebs: Menkir Tamrat Brings Ethiopian Heirlooms to the East Bay.” The story consistently ranks high in our online analytics.
Spring 2012—Garden sketch by muralist Alan Leon | Summer 2012—Grocery cart by painter Otto Thorsen | Fall Harvest 2012—Ice cream scoop by artist Margo Rivera-Weiss; |Winter 2012–2013—Rare fruits by printmaker Elizabeth Hubbell
2012: In “Sweet, Cold, and Unforgettable Pleasure,” Kristina Sepetys tempts us with a memorable “cone-u-copia” of East Bay ice cream and other frozen treats.
Spring 2013—Community kitchen by painter Cristian Guerrero | Summer 2013—Japanese farm food by painter Shari Arai DeBoer | Fall Harvest 2013—Preserves by painter J.R. Nelson | Winter Holidays 2013–2014—Boletes by watercolorist Wendy Yoshimura
2013: Jillian Steinberger-Foster writes what might forever be the definitive article on avocado culture in Northern California. Artist Mary Brown contributes charming illustrations.
Avocado by painter Mary Brown | Self portrait by cartoonist Gary Handman
2013: Jillian Steinberger-Foster covers AB 1616, California’s Homemade Food Act, which has jump-started a new era in micro-enterprise in the state.
2013: Artist Gary Handman makes his Edible East Bay debut with illustrations of various humble East Bay food spots that he counts among his favorites.
Spring 2014—Beehive by photographer Stacy Ventura | Summer 2014—Ram etching by artist Celia Wedding | Fall Harvest 2014—Wild turkey by artist Celia Wedding | Winter Holidays 2014–2015—Teapots by painter Margo Rivera-Weiss
2014: In “Counting the Beans,” Sarah Henry talks to restaurateurs and workers on the implications of the state’s hike in the minimum wage.
2014: Sarah Henry reports on the (then) brave new world of digital dining opportunities. (Think: simply ordering dinner on your phone.)
2014: Oral historian Shanna Farrell writes “Garden to Glass: The Bay Area’s Extraordinary Contributions to America’s Craft Cocktail Movement.”
2014: Writer Erik “Daemon” Ferry contributes the notorious “Wild Turkey: A Good Choice for the Sustainability Pilgrim’s Thanksgiving.” The story is announced by one of our most eye-popping covers (see the turkey above). The three-plate etching/aquatint is by artist Celia Wedding.
Spring 2015—Tractor by painter Margo Rivera-Weiss | Summer 2015 Garden herbs at Camino by photographer Robin Jolin | Fall Harvest 2015—Tomato horn worm by musician David Gans | Winter Holidays 2015–2016—Feast by painter Cynthia Pepper
2015: Drought is raging as contributor Melissa Fairchild Clark pens one of our favorite openings to a story: “As this readership possesses the inherently open-minded nature of an innovative society, and this writer is vehemently against bait-and-switch, allow me to be entirely transparent: I’m here to talk about eating bugs. On purpose. For a purpose.”
2015:2015: Jillian Steinberger-Foster writes “How the East Bay’s Wonderfully Virtuous Seed Lending Innovation Turned into a Crime Scene.” Scott Peterson’s accompanying video on seed-saving activist Rebecca Newburn wins Readers’ Choice for Best Video in the 2016 EDDY Awards.
2015: Shanna Farrell and artist Gary Handman collaborate for a raucous tour through cocktail lore and historic bars in “Who Invented the Martini?”
Spring 2016—Rooftop beekeeper by photographer Olivia Vigo | Summer 2016—Cherries by watercolorist Wendy Yoshimura | Fall Harvest 2016—Tomato breeding by painter Shari Arai DeBoer | Winter Holidays 2016–2017—Teacups by painter J.R. Nelson
2016: Anna Mindess covers the new interest in ancient grains, many of which are gluten-free.
Spring 2017—Luz Calvo and Catrióna Rueda Esquibel by painter Margo Rivera-Weiss | Summer 2017—Watermelon by photographer Scott Peterson | Fall Harvest 2017—Harvest by artist Helen Krayenhoff | Winter Holidays 2017–2018—Bears’ vegan feast by painter Julia Cost
2017: Our coverage of Market Hall’s 30th anniversary tells how its opening in 1987 transformed Rockridge.
2017: Two stories go in-depth on food co-ops and collectives: Rachel Trachten’s “Sharing the Pie” and Jessica Prentice’s comparison of worker-owned versus shareholder-owned companies. Artist Margo Rivera-Weiss’s associated map is added to a maps exhibit at OMCA.
2017: Horticulturist Joshua Burman Thayer writes about permaculture and how to create a food forest.
2017: Photographer Scott Peterson wins Best Video at the 2018 EDDY Awards for “In Madame Huang’s Kitchen.”
Spring 2018—Hops by artist and farmer Susan Tibbon | Summer 2018—Romano beans by artist Wendy Yoshimura | Fall Harvest 2018—Avocados by painter Bhavna Misra | Winter Holidays 2018–2019—Pomegranates and thrush by printmaker Rigel Stuhmiller
Spring 2019—Roux the farm dog wearing a broccoli hat by farmers Matthew and Helena Sylvester | Summer 2019—Table by painter Gloria Retzlaff Taylor | Fall Harvest 2019—Grapes by watercolorist Wendy Yoshimura | Winter Holidays 2019–2020—Chocolates by painter Margo Rivera-Weiss
2019: Anna Mindess covers Cafe Ohlone, bringing new perspective on Indigenous foodways to Edible East Bay.
Spring 2020—Kitchen tools by painter Margo Rivera-Weiss | Summer/Fall 2020—Study in blue by painter Madeline Rohner | Winter Holidays 2020–2021: Oyster on the half shell by watercolorist Wendy Yoshimura. In that first year of the pandemic, we skipped an issue as everyone worked to respond to the worldwide health crisis.
2020: When the pandemic hits and residents fear entering crowded supermarkets, we quickly update and expand our longtime CSA and farmers’ market guides.
2020: With “Takeout for the Cause,” Meredith Pakier launches her popular column on cheap eats (now called the Moveable Feast).
2020: In “Getting to Fair Share,” horticulturist Troy Horton of Town and City Permaculture writes about his work to apply principles of permaculture toward growing stronger food systems in redlined neighborhoods.
Spring 2021—Artichoke by painter Helen Krayenhoff | Summer 2021—Flying burger by photographer Judy Doherty | Fall Harvest 2021—Dinner from the Chez Panisse market by urban sketcher Cathy Raingarden | Winter Holidays 2021–2022—Alice Medrich’s olive oil cake by photographer Judy Doherty
2021: Columnist Barbara Kobsar writes a splendid two-part feature on Brentwood u-picks. Her Summer issue coverage is about her favorite farms for berries and stone fruits. For our Fall issue, it’s sweet corn and peppers.
2021: Mary Orlin brings us her award-winning wine writing with “A Pour of Diversity at the Local Wine Table.”
2021: Chef and author Alice Medrich’s olive oil cake on the cover of our Holiday issue introduces “Olive Oil Heaven: a Guide to California’s New Harvest,” the culmination of two decades of Edible East Bay’s coverage of California olive oil culture and the profound influence of those vibrant flavors on our Mediterranean-style cuisines.
Spring 2022—Salad at Wahpepah’s Kitchen by photographer Scott Peterson | Summer 2022—Berry meringue at Pomet by photographer Bart Nagel | Fall Harvest 2022—Ground cherry by photographer Ivar Leidus | Winter Holidays 2022–2023—Still life at Via del Corso by photographer Scott Peterson
2022 Best of Edible Awards: “Olive Oil Heaven” wins Best Digital Program. The guide pairs with our Best Recipe Feature Finalist Award for “Sharing a Harvest of Joy,” Cheryl Angelina Koehler’s multi-part collaboration with photographer Judy Doherty, olive oil expert and educator Roberta Klugman, and a host of professionals in the olive oil community. Also,Doherty’s flying burger photo on our Summer 2021 cover is a Finalist for Best Cover, and to top off a great night, “At the Chez Panisse Sunday Market,” our 2021 story on pandemic-period adaptations at the iconic Berkeley restaurant, wins urban sketcher Cathy Raingarden the Best Illustration prize.
2022: Edible Communities bestows their coveted Sustainability Award on Alameda County’s StopWaste, recognizing the agency’s work in doing “good for people, businesses, and the planet.”
2022: To honor the 100th anniversary of Berkeley Horticultural Nursery, Rachel Trachten writes about its history, staff, and outstanding variety of plants.
2022: “What’s in Season” columnist Barbara Kobsar covers the 40th anniversary of the Contra Costa Certified Farmers’ Markets.
Spring 2023—Strawberries at Full Belly Farm by editor Cheryl Angelina Koehler | Summer 2023—A fresh “weedo” at the Malcolm X Elementary school garden by photographer Rachel Stanich | Fall Harvest 2023—Chef Anthony Paone at Bull Valley Roadhouse by photographer Rachel Stanich | Winter Holidays 2023–2024—Alice Medrich’s Friendship Cake by photographer Scott Peterson
2023: Writer/illustrator Bri James makes her Edible East Bay debut with “Engineered to Eat.”
2023 Best of Edible Awards: “Mustard Madness” wins Best Recipe Feature for Cheryl Angelina Koehler’s collaboration with photographer Judy Doherty, poet Gabrielle Myers, and a host of East Bay food artisans.
Spring 2024—Hot beet roll by photographer Raymond Franssen | Summer 2024—Pineapple Sage mojitos by photographer Clara Rice | Fall Harvest 2024—Benovento BLT by farmer and tomato breeder Fred Hempel | Winter Holidays 2024–2025—Still life by photographer Judy Doherty
2024: For a sidebar to “Garden of Generosity,” her feature on Livermore’s Fertile GroundWorks, Rachel Trachten includes a list of 25 community-run East Bay urban gardens where volunteers help grow food to feed neighbors.
2024 Best of Edible Awards: Urban sketcher Cathy Raingarden wins for her illustrations in “Tasting the California Foodscape.” Rachel Trachten wins Best Editorial Profile for “Cocina Del Corazón: Where Community Tops the Menu.”
Spring 2025—Aguachile by photographer Raymond Franssen | Summer 2025—Drink at Moxie Steakhouse by photographer Scott Peterson
2025: Writer Anna Mindess and photographer Scott Peterson take readers on an extraordinary tour inside the kitchen at Oakland Chinatown’s iconic Peony Seafood Restaurant with the feature story “Sixteen Chefs.”
