Five on Friday • 07.31.26
Ideas, stories, and inspiration to discover, explore, and make.
One small note: Some email providers may clip this issue because it’s packed full. Click the subject line anytime to read the full version on the Substack website or app.
This week’s newsletter is a single-subject stack devoted entirely to food zines.
Why You Should Make a Food Zine
by Morgan of Lunchbox Letters
Why make a food zine? Because it turns recipes and food stories into something tangible that you can share – a small act of care, creativity, connection, and community.
Food-related prompts from Why You Should Make a Food Zine →
Your favorite meals of the week
Family recipes to preserve and share
A deep dive into a specific ingredient
Your go-to takeout spots
Underrated cooking tips
“Creating a mini-zine with zero design skill and a world of possibilities”
Cynthia Nims of Long Live the Recipe Box
I commented on one of Cynthia’s Long Live the Recipe Box posts about being a huge food zine fan. We ended up connecting over Zoom to talk about recipes, cookbooks, and, of course, zines. Soon after, Cynthia tried her hand at making a mini-zine of her own.
I’ve been making mini recipe zines for my own recipe box (and to share with others) so I loved reading her behind-the-scenes account of making one for the first time.
Read Looping Back to Zines and then try making one yourself! →
The Ephemeral Appeal of Indie Food Zines: Why zines are food media’s experimental cutting edge
I love food zines in particular because they’re not always obligated to cover the same topics or fit into the same genres as mainstream food media.
Read the full article on Eater →
Creating a Food Zine
by Katie Bagley
Spoiler: it’s a lot of work!
Read Creating a Food Zine: Bringing a crazy idea to life →
And while you’re there, make sure to check out Katie’s vintage cookbook reviews. Her collection is incredible (yup, I’m jealous 😊).
One of the first articles I read on Substack about food zines was Teresa Finney’s Recipes to Hold Dear in Your Hand:
Teresa also created Panadería, one of my favorite food zines, and wrote about what it took to bring it to life:
I love this idea, I’ve been meaning to make a food based zine.
Thanks so much for the shoutout 💚🍥