Help Support Portland's Kitchen Table Magazine: "The Future Issue"

Kitchen Table Magazine #7: The Future cover

One of Portland’s truly independent food publications is Kitchen Table Magazine. It publishes once or twice a year, and is not to be confused with Kitchen Table Quarterly. They are readying their upcoming issue and are running a crowdfunding campaign to fund it.

Who Is Behind Kitchen Table Magazine?

Brett Warnock

The founder of Kitchen Table Magazine is Brett Warnock. He’s a former comic book publisher who, with Chris Staros, founded Top Shelf Publishing in 1997. In 2015, it was acquired by IDW Publishing, the fifth-largest comic book publisher in the U.S. (Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Image are the four above it). Top Shelf continues to publish graphic novels as an imprint of IDW.

Along with publishing, Brett has many years under his belt of food service and hospitality work. He has been a bartender, waiter, host, prep cook, line cook, food runner, beer buyer, wine steward, and deli clerk, including stints at New Seasons, Taqueria Nueve, Wildwood, and more.

Katrina Clasen

Katrina Clasen is the publication’s designer. She takes care of the look and feel of the magazine, and has a keen interest in print publication. (“My specialty is breathing life back into print.”) She also works in website design, including the area of user experience.

Along with her work at Kitchen Table Magazine, past projects have included working with Open Stage Theatre & Co., university literary journals, Yogi Tea, and more.

Kitchen Table Magazine: The Future Issue (#7)

They describe Kitchen Table as “an independent, visually stunning print magazine exploring food, culture, and community” with “a mission of fostering community and meaningful dialogue through food.” They want to “support authentic, personal storytelling, amplify diverse voices, and keep independent print media alive.”

For The Future Issue they acknowledge that we live in uncertain times, but “believe in a brighter future and see the potential for resistance and change that exists within ourselves and our communities.”

Who and What Are in The Future Issue

More about The Future Issue:

“This edition delves into the great unknown, offering fresh perspectives on how community and food—and our relationship with it—might shape the world ahead during these uncertain times. The centerpiece of the new issue is a who’s who? of the Portland food scene featuring a wide range of respected stakeholders discussing food and the future.”

Some of the people you’ll encounter in The Future Issue are:

Lola Milholland (writer & food entrepreneur—you may know her best as the founder of Umi Organic, which suffered in a fire last year.)
Jim Dixon (Wellspent Market)
Henry Storch (Oso Honey Farm)
Josephine LaCosta (farmer, writer, and recipe developer)
Cory Schreiber (Wildwood)
Liz Crain (fermenting master and writer)
Megan Scott (Joy of Cooking)
Sarah Marshall (Marshall’s Haute Sauce)
Heather Arndt Anderson (OPB’s Superabundant)
Jess Hardy (TPK Brewing)
Lane Selman (Culinary Breeding Network)

And more!

The Crowdfunding Campaign

As you may know, independent publishers are finding it harder and harder to fund their efforts than it has been in the past. Crowdfunding is one of a number of contemporary options, and Kitchen Table has chosen this path. Their campaign on the Crowdfundr platform will run from today, March 24 to Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

Their goal is to raise $21,000; as of the writing of this article they are 8% toward their goal, so they can really use your help.

And there are perks that come with your gifts. It could be a copy of issue #7; a bundle of issues #2 to #6; a collection of locally made sauces; and more. Plus, new perks will be added during the life of the campaign.

Their Crowdfundr page also serves as a place where you can straight up order Kitchen Table products, gift cards, and merch. By the way, if you want to find Kitchen Table Magazine out in the wild, you can do so at these locations.

As the Kitchen Table folks say, “We love sharing our story, but even more, we love sparking conversations about the future of food, community, and independent publishing. Help us spread the word and bring The Future Issue to life.” I hope you will consider helping to fund this upcoming issue.

Kitchen Table Magazine Fundraiser
The Future Issue (#7)
Monday, March 24 to Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Crowdfunding campaign website
Kitchen Table Magazine website | Instagram | Facebook

Updated March 25, 2025.