Five years ago, Civil Eats began as the modest blog for the 2008 Slow Food Nation event in Washington D.C., intended to be the first online presence of the burgeoning good food movement. Today, it’s widely respected as a food news hub and platform for otherwise unheard voices within the food system. Not only does it feature news on food and wellness, but it provides a place for farmers and growers within the food system to share ideas. But the site has long been a labor of love for its two founding editors, Naomi Starkman and Paula Crossfield, and their cornucopia of contributing writers, none of whom make a dime from the production of the site. Now, however, Starkman and Crossfield – who work in various media roles at their day jobs – hope to change that, at least for their writers. Civil Eats has launched a Kickstarter campaign to expand their coverage, start paying contributors, and hire a managing editor to oversee the site’s content. The site is looking for $100,000 to cover its budget for a year, a small sum for what the site brings to the food world, Starkman said. “Our sole purpose is to talk about the American food system,” she told Food Safety News. “We provide a platform for so many people working in the food system and provide a place for many of them to speak through their own voice.” Starkman and Crossfield would still work on the site pro bono, including the time they spend coaching some farmers and growers to help improve their writing and editing skills for contributed articles. “We really try to work with people who are not writers and get them to talk about the work they’re doing firsthand,” Starkman said. “I think we occupy a pretty special space that no one else is in, as far as I can tell.” Civil Eats’ Kickstarter campaign runs through October 18.
