“What’s your intention?” Hearing that from a dad as you go on a date is nerve-wracking. Saying it to yourself is powerful. It means that you’re paying attention to what you’re doing, what you’re eating and what you’re spending time on. It means you’re being intentional. Deliberate. Thoughtful. You’re aware.

With intentionality as a theme in this issue of Edible San Fernando Valley, our goal was to inspire our readers to think about their choices. Not in a judgmental way, but in a way that’s engaging, enlightening and fun. It’s about baby steps that evolve into strides for yourself, your family, community and the Earth.

One of the easiest ways to start is to head to a farmers’ market. There you’ll develop relationships with the people who grow your food. You’ll support small farms and agriculture. It’ll inspire you to cook healthfully, too. See Larry McClements’ article and recipes on page 12 and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

As the child of parents who grew up in the shadow of World War II, I learned early on that wasting food was not an option. It was zero-waste living before the term existed.

We were intentional in the food we chose, making sure it was healthful, flavorful and could be used in its entirety. This intention carries on with me today. I hate to waste food. I use as much as I can and compost the rest for my garden.

I’m also a fan of volunteering for Food Forward, which helps fight food insecurity and food waste by harvesting fresh produce and giving it to agencies that feed people. Our contributor Brenda Rees and I have intentionally raised our hands to be Food Forward volunteers. It’s rewarding to be part of the food insecurity, food-waste solution. In a recent glean, my fellow volunteers and I harvested 1,600 pounds of lemons from trees that were so laden, they looked yellow instead of green.

See a throughline here? Being intentional is good for you and for the community. And it’s fun.

So, what will you be intentional about?

Happy summer!
Sarene Wallace
Managing Editor