She wanted to bring her favorite foodie magazine to KC; her mother’s sudden death put this publisher’s plans on the back burner 

Lauren Cook’s passion for Edible Communities magazine drove her appetite to revive it in Kansas City, she shared, but an unexpected life change has her hoping to hand the publisher’s apron to someone else.

Cook purchased the license to publish the city-specific food magazine — each independently run by publishers in metros across the country — in KC in January 2022 with her mother as her business partner. Her mom’s sudden passing just five months later shifted her priorities, she said, and she’s no longer the right person to take on the project. However, that doesn’t mean she’s giving up on its revival in her hometown.

“I have so much confidence in the success that’s possible with Edible Kansas City,” she explained. “Me leaving before publishing is not because I wasn’t confident. It was just because I had this tremendous life change that I could have never expected. And because I have such a passion for Edible, I want it to be done well. I don’t want to half do it. That’s not fair to anyone who’s going to read it. It’s not fair to me. It’s not fair to anybody.”

“So I’m just so excited,” she continued. “If we could find the next right person, it could be a life-changing experience for this person, but also an amazing value add for Kansas City — being able to tell people stories and create connection through so many positive relationships in a world that really needs it.”

A selection of some of Lauren Cook’s favorite Edible Communities magazines from across the nation

Cook — who is a teacher with a passion for writing — first encountered an Edible Communities magazine while living in Oklahoma City.

“I’m a total foodie — just personality-wise,” she shared. “We love trying things. I love cooking and was immediately attracted to the magazine. Anytime we travel, we look for an Edible. We have a whole wall of covers in our kitchen because we just love the photography and the quality of every city’s publication. It’s just incredible. We just really love (the magazine).”

Click here to learn more about the Edible Communities publications.

About a year after starting to pick up the magazine, she said, she decided to see if they needed writers. She ended up joining the Edible OKC team to write and do ad sales and did that for a year before they moved back to KC in 2018. The national organization asked her if she liked to restart the publication in KC — which last published in 2016 — but with the impending birth of her daughter, she decided to hold off for the right time.

A stack of Edible Communities featuring foodie cities from across the nation

In early 2022, Cook noted, she decided to take the leap with her mom beside her to tackle the business aspects, so she could handle the creative side.

“We were going in on this together,” she explained. “While it was my dream, it was also hers because she wanted to support me. She was an accountant, so she was able to do those things. And so I bought it in January, got started, redid the website, did a lot of background work and had planned to launch the actual print magazine for the holiday season 2022.”

With the loss of her mom and the new responsibilities that have come with it — plus life with a 5 year old — Cook feels like the publication is too much to take on by herself right now, she said, noting she’d still like to be involved as a writer.

“It’s hard to let go of a dream,” Cook added. “But at the same time, when you know that it could be done better with someone else, that’s OK.”

Now she’s determined to find the right person to take over Edible KC, someone who has an entrepreneurial spirit, is creative, loves KC, and is a foodie.

“You have to want to tell the stories of the people here,” Cook continued. “You have to want to share why we can create a local food culture that can support the people in Kansas City, but also the people doing it.”

She’d like to find someone as passionate as she is about the impact of food, she shared.

“I just see the power and how it can bring us together,” Cook said. “It bridges so many gaps.”

The future owner can buy the contract outright from Cook or she’s willing to be flexible on the front end with a possible payment plan. She also is willing to hand over all of the progress she has made so far with the website, recipes, newsletter, and social media channels. The Edible Communities national organization — which requires the publications to at least publish quarterly, although it can also publish monthly or bi-monthly — also provides designers, photo databases, support with the website, as well as connections to other publishers.

“They would not be starting from scratch,” she added. “They would at least have a lot of structures built.”

Cook knows it’s a huge ask and a big investment, she said, but it’ll be worth it in the right hands.

“I just hope we can get it back because the food scene here is just getting bigger and bigger,” she explained. “We’re the perfect city for it. Just got to find the right person.”

Interested in taking over Edible KC? Email lauren@ediblekansascity.com.