We picked mud season for our 2026 Food Issue knowing it might make things tough for our reporters. Late-winter storms stymied several restaurant visits, and it’s not an ideal time of year to find mouthwatering farming stories.
So why plan our food frenzy for mid-March? Well, it’s one of the slowest times of the year for restaurants, and they need all the support they can get right now. If nothing else, we hope this issue encourages you to grab a friend and go out to eat. There’s an abundance of delicious things out there for any budget.
Our cover package delivers a Seven Days version of a baker’s dozen — let’s call it a baker’s septet: seven new or revamped dining destinations, plus one bar, collectively serving a global menu, from wood-fired pita in Manchester to sake flights in Montpelier. For even more choices, head to the inaugural Old North End restaurant week in Burlington. At least one of the participating eateries serves a petite dish that has escaped the ire of writer Chelsea Edgar in her highly subjective — but very funny — Hater’s Guide to Small Plates. (I, on the other hand, could write a Lover’s Guide on the topic.)
For an inside view on restaurants, a new short film features the couple behind White River Junction’s Tuckerbox. “Meze on Main Street: A Love Story” is one of three food and agriculture films highlighted by critic Margot Harrison. Hungry for more? Thursday’s “Stuck in Vermont” episode focuses on the two family generations running Shelburne’s renowned O Bread Bakery; and Stockbridge native Kevin Chap created a new PBS series, “Wild Foods” — coming soon to a screen near you. To round out the multimedia menu, tune in to the playlists of local restaurants with music editor Chris Farnsworth.
In his TV show, Chap advocates for relying less on mass-produced supermarket food. Burlington’s iconic City Market co-op has long provided an alternative to mainstream stores with its careful attention to local sourcing. That includes veggies from the Deep Root Organic Co-op, a 35-year cross-border collaborative of Vermont and Québecois growers. But, financially, City Market continues to struggle: Last week it laid off 12 employees.
Find happier retail news in our story about Church Street’s Homeport adding a second store in Essex with a focus on kitchen goods and housewares. The new shop’s shelves will likely hold many spoons, though none with a handle quite as long as those featured in the fable behind the new community meals sponsored by the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont.
The goal of the dinners is to kindle connections over food. There are plenty of ways to do that: At the newly expanded Feeding Champlain Valley food shelf in Burlington’s Old North End, the hot-meals program anchors a web of support for those in need.
From supporting local restaurants to cultivating trust over a meal, as the folks at NOFA-VT like to say: “Good food helps.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Share a meal | The Food Issue serves up a tasting menu of stories about Vermont”
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This article appears in The Food Issue • 2026.
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