Follow the money
Follow the money
The fine art of stretching subscription dollars
If you’re not a paying subscriber, you haven’t yet had the chance to read The Food Section’s Wednesday edition, a weekly compilation of columns about new restaurants, upcoming food festivals, and obscure food stories culled from the collections of small Southern museums. While the featured places span the whole of The Food Section’s coverage map, the format is a rough approximation of what I seek out when I roll into a new town.
For instance, when I recently drove through Bishopville, South Carolina 30 minutes before the South Carolina Cotton Museum opened, I felt like I had to bide time until I could get inside (Turns out the museum is also home to the world’s greatest archive of Lizard Man memorabilia: Paid subscribers will get all the details in a forthcoming Wednesday column.)
I paid my $6 museum admission fee with a $10 bill, which netted me a pair of crisp twos. At the S.C. Cotton Museum, change is always made in $2 bills because they have a higher cotton content than singles, which weaken and fade when they go through the wash.
Of course, I have no plans to launder the money. I know $2 bills are special.
Truthfully, I’m not always so careful with my cash. But I am extremely careful with yours. I don’t want to waste a cent invested in The Food Section, so I’m downright stingy with subscription revenue. I’ve written previously about seeking out the cheapest AirBnB beds for rent when I travel, but I also habitually apply for grants and other stipends to cover the cost of producing original food journalism.
And sometimes those applications pan out. Last week, I received a fellowship from Investigative Reporters & Editors, the nation’s leading investigative journalism organization, to attend the 2022 IRE Conference in Denver.
Among the sessions on the packed agenda are programs such as: “Exposing health threats at work”; “Investigating inequality on any beat”; “Reporting on businesses that want nothing to do with you” and “Using the Real Housewives franchise as a device to explore interviewing and bias.” Sure, why not?
Because here’s the deal when you pay for The Food Section: Not only will I safeguard your hard-earned money, but I’ll make it go farther by working smarter. Check it out.
Have a great weekend.
Take care,
Hanna
If you’re not a paid subscriber, here’s what you missed this week:
Before the sun comes up during Ramadan, religious and cultural traditions converge at Waffle House, which has emerged as a favorite suhoor destination for Muslims across the South.
Hickory shad aren’t swimming in the quantities that once fed George Washington’s army, but Grifton, North Carolina continues to celebrate the fish.
Private dining clubs are poised for a resurgence in Owensboro, Kentucky.
A museum in Milledgeville, Georgia is using a fake tiered cake to teach visitors about free and enslaved pastry chefs.