With the astounding announcement that Lucila de Alejandro (above) and Robin Taylor were closing their iconic Suzie's Farm, San Diego's food community was left with mouths dropped on the floor. Many of us knew that keeping the farm going was always a struggle but the couple had just muscled on, believing in the power of community to turn things around.
But, ultimately, the burden of debt without profit proved too much. Last week, right after the news broke via a live video Lucila posted on Facebook, my editor at Edible San Diego asked me to write first an editorial on the implications of this loss and later a larger story for the September issue that will focus on what's needed to keep organic farms like Suzie's healthy and viable for the long term.