What are community hubs? And how are they created?
Our magazine was founded on telling and sharing the stories of farmers, purveyors, restaurants, and everything local that embraces a sustainable lifestyle—the locavore movement. We also wanted to be a resource for our local purveyors and connect them with a wider audience by making the information interesting and more accessible to those who wanted it. We became a hub of information in Southeastern Mass, whether it be farmers’ market locations; buck-a-shuck offerings; or stories about local farmers who sell their products to their communities, to local restaurants, or at local farmers’ markets—just to name a few.
We bear witness to, and are proudly part of, several community hubs. There are multiple definitions for this term; we are referring to central meeting places, locations, and practices such as community-based permaculture that embrace connection. And while the foods at many hubs can fill our bellies, it is the social, inclusive connections that give us true sustenance and strengthen the fabric of our communities.
Community hubs are places for unique discussions among peers that often support one another’s work and needs. Through these hubs, enduring friendships are formed, and unique collaborations are made. Individual efforts become part of something larger. These are just a few of the benefits we get from such entities. These relationships extend out from the center to positively permeate the community.
Farmers’ markets, the Soule Homestead, and local permaculture groups embody what it means to be a community hub, and in this issue, we explore what that looks like from three different angles. We also discover how Fall River is trying to build its tourism business and attract new enterprises while staying true to its residents.
In Local Provisions, we share which holiday and winter brews await you this season. A review of Jacques Pépin’s new cookbook includes three recipes that make for a delicious dinner for those unexpected drop-in guests. Need a little luck? Chef Coe shares four traditional recipes that bolster good fortune and prosperity in the New Year. And Jillian’s Last Bite of Churros with a Mexican Hot Chocolate Sauce may not win you the lottery, but they will put a big grin on your face.
For this Winter season, let’s be grateful for those who make our lives better every day, creating connections, offering hope and help, and genuinely caring about community with all its many faces.
Cheers to all.
