Gravy: Summer 2025

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Guest-edited by veteran Atlanta-based journalist Beth McKibben, the Summer 2025 issue of Gravy shares stories of Southern farmers, foragers, seed-savers, soil scientists, and oystermen who not only work within the challenges of the region's changing climate but find ways to adapt and thrive.

Tag along with Atlanta writer Hannah Palmer as she reconnects with the land, her community, and her ancestors on a foraging journey from Arabia Mountain to Buford Highway to the city's southeastern neighborhoods. Holly Haworth explores how the region's seed savers are securing the future of the South’s crops by preserving traditional seed varieties and creating weather-tolerant hybrids. Illustrations and prose by Arwen Donahue document the destructive force of water on her family’s Kentucky farm and the resilience of farmers, captured in intimate vignettes of eight flash floods endured over twenty-five years.

Julia Skinner considers how a changing climate affects the tastes and textures of produce and its availability in restaurants and backyard gardens. Tiana Kennell reports on hunger relief in western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Jason Howard follows Kentucky singer, songwriter, and farmer Senora May Childers as she cultivates her family's land and plans to open a local grocery store. Eva Tesfaye explores how oyster culture might mitigate land loss in south Louisiana. Megan Mayhew Bergman writes about the perils and possibilities of shifting plant hardiness zones, while Hanna Raskin explores the etiquette and environmental implications of doggie bags. Paul Greenberg asks: Can you be a climate-conscious carnivore?

The narratives in this issue neither sensationalize nor trivialize the real threats climate change poses to Southern foodways. But through humor and self-reflection, tenacious reporting and storytelling, and breathtaking visuals, Gravy offers frank perspectives, some solutions, and even hope.