Slow Food USA is excited to announce this year’s 220 delegates to Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto and the International Congress!

Written by Hnin Hnin, Slow Food USA’s Associate Manager of National Programs

Every two years, Slow Food supporters from around the world come together for Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto to share innovative solutions and time-honored traditions for feeding the planet in a good, clean, and fair way.  And per tradition, delegates from over 130 countries are selected by Slow Food associations to join the 200,000+ visitors expected to attend this global gathering the size of two fiat factories. 

This year, Slow Food USA has invited 220 food movement leaders to join the U.S. delegation to this landmark food and farming conference on October 25-29 in Turin, Italy.  Nearly half of the delegation has also been invited to the International Congress, an exclusive meeting of Slow Food leaders worldwide that happens every five years and will take place Oct 27- 29 in the same location.

Being selected for this historic event is a special honor.  The 220 U.S. delegates were chosen from a competitive pool of 600 applicants by 20 regional selection committees (and 1 national committee) comprised of Slow Food and Terra Madre leaders. With almost 25% people of color and folks from 50 different food communities spanning all sectors of the food movement from labor to production to students, this year’s delegation is by far the most diverse the U.S. has ever sent.

Unlike the average visitor, delegates play a key role in showcasing good, clean, and fair products and practices, leading workshops, and speaking on issues from land grabbing to GMOs to gastronomy.  The select 103 U.S. delegates chosen to join their global counterparts at the International Congress will also have the opportunity to shape and decide the direction of Slow Food’s global work going forward.

Meet one of our International Congress delegates, Jim Embry, and hear what he has to say about Slow Food, Terra Madre, and the International Congress.

The 2012 U.S. delegation to Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto and the International Congress is full of bright leaders like Jim. Find out who they are here and here, respectively!

Inspired? Join us in congratulating them in the comments section below.

Slow Food Philadelphia’s collaboration luncheons bring local organizations together over a meal to meet, greet, and discuss ways to work together towards common goals.

Written By Deirdra Stockmann, former leader of Slow Food Huron Valley

In April 2012, Slow Food Philadelphia convened its second Collaboration Luncheon. This fall, they’ll host a third. The goal of these meetings is to bring leaders of Philadelphia area food movement organizations together in an informal, conversational atmosphere (with food, of course!) to meet, greet, and find ways to work together and advance shared goals. By hosting these events, Slow Food Philly is playing a vital convening and connecting role in an active, but not always coordinated, food activism landscape.

Philadelphia has long been a hub of the good food movement. Chefs, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, community members, and urban farmers have been hard at work for decades simultaneously honoring Philly’s food traditions and pushing the city forward through innovations in urban agriculture, fresh food access and food policy. Philadelphia is renowned for its markets, artisanal food products, farm-to-table restaurants, and microbreweries. And the city is home to dozens of organizations known regionally and nationally for their work on hunger, food justice, sustainable agriculture, community gardening and food policy.

But the busy leaders of these groups rarely have the time to meet, catch up on the latest activities and welcome newcomers to the lively scene. Slow Food Philadelphia decided to devote some of its resources to creating the time and space for this to happen.

“When we put this together, we had an idea, it was purely an idea, not a plan,” said Joe Brandolo, Slow Food Philadelphia president.  The idea was to bring representatives of likeminded organizations who may not know each other and sometimes feel like they compete with each other, together to talk about how they can help one another. The plan was simply to get the right people in the room and then let the meeting develop organically. Brandolo provided light direction to the group, but the focus was on participants talking with each other. “Joe is a very good convener and a very good sharer of information,” said Bob Pierson, president of Farm to City, an organization that has been bringing regionally grown produce into the city through markets, CSAs and buying clubs since 1996.

In preparation for the first meeting, Brandolo asked participants to identify an area of need in their organization where they could benefit from collaboration with another group. At the meeting, participants had five minutes to talk about their organization, what they are currently working on and how they would like to connect with others. The first couple of presentations, Brandolo recalled, were a little awkward as the group was getting a sense of the tenor of the gathering. But it quickly became a dynamic and animated conversation, with people connecting on common interests and commitments to change in the regional food system.

After the introduction round, attendees paired with someone in the room with whom they wanted to talk further. Some pairs chatted about opportunities to work together. Some used the time to catch up with old friends and colleagues. Afterwards, conversations continued over lunch. Slow Food Philadelphia provided the meal, using funds they raised through a monthly speaker series. Brandolo’s company donated wine. The first luncheon was hosted at the Inn at Penn, the second at The Restaurant School. The next will be held in partnership with Les Dames Escoffier Society of Philadelphia and their Green Tables initiative.

Participants felt that the relaxed, conversational feel of the meetings was a key part of their success. “It is always difficult to get all the local food movement people in one room where they can kind of relax and walk away for an hour or two from their very busy pace and know they are with likeminded people. It is very comforting,” Pierson recalled. Carey Morgan, Executive Director of the Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger, compared the meetings to other, more formal regional food groups she is a part of: “the Slow Food [Luncheons] are more productive. When you go to the Slow Food event, you know you can have conversations and build relationships.”

When Morgan started as the director of the Coalition, she felt the hunger movement was disconnected from the sustainable agriculture movement despite how interconnected the issues are. She sees the Luncheons as one important way to link different aspects of the food movement together. “The lunches are great for education for both sides to see what is going on and how we can build a bigger movement that touches all of these issues,” Morgan said. She attended the events after getting to know Brandolo a few years earlier when their offices became neighbors. As a result, she connected with organizations she may not have met otherwise. For instance, the Coalition plans to partner with some groups on community gardens that will supply food pantries in the city.

One thing that made Slow Food Philadelphia an effective convener and facilitator was that it wasn’t trying to push its own “agenda” beyond promoting connections and building the movement. “We don’t really have a dog in the fight, we have everybody’s dog in this fight,” Brandolo noted. The chapter sees itself as the “glue” of the movement and serves as a “mouthpiece” by promoting the events and fundraising activities of all of its partners through Facebook and its large email list.

For Morgan and others, inclusivity was another essential component of the success of the Collaboration Luncheons. “We are at a time when none of us can afford to be working against each other especially with the Farm Bill coming up,” she emphasized. As the Slow Food Philadelphia website states and the Collaboration Luncheons show, “collaboration makes us stronger.”

Learn more about some of the organizations that have participated in the luncheons here: www.slowfoodphilly.org/organizations/

Good and Clean becomes more Fair for everyone

Written by Janette Wesley, Slow Food Upstate Chapter Leader

After a long and detailed application process with completion of a required training session, the Slow Food Upstate Board who manages the Earth Market Greenville, celebrates the approved EBT status in June of 2012 and will be able to accept EBT or SNAP benefits, formerly known as food stamps, as payment for food products, (also plants and seeds that bear food), an essential part of the goals in the philosophy of “Good, Clean and Fair” food.

E.B.T.-Electronic Benefits Transfer, the newer version of food stamps, is an electronic system in the United States funded by the Federal Government, which allows government’s states benefits departments to issue money, accessible via a plastic debit card or a paper voucher in exchange for food or seeds and plants which produce food.

We’ve teamed up with Daniel Klein and the folks over at Perennial Plate to deliver monthly video stories, our first dispatch features highlights from An American Food (Road)Trip.

Nearly two-and-half years ago, Daniel Klein and his colleague Mirra Fine over at Perennial Plate set out to tell the stories of real food in the United States.  In their first two seasons, they filmed several terabytes of coverage and more than 100 episodes in nearly every state.  This season, they will embark on a bold new journey—telling the story of food culture internationally! Beginning this month, we’ll by teaming up with Perennial Plate, as a video content partner, for a regular monthly feature here on the Slow Food USA blog, lifting up new and interesting food stories told through video.  Over the next few months, we’ll be looking back at some of our combined highlights.  So without further ado, here’s one of their season recaps.  And don’t forget to tune in next month for more fun from the road!

From $500 grills to 100 year old fish boils, the tradition of outdoor cooking survives as a summer staple in the U.S.

Written by Slow Food USA Associate Director of National Programs, Angelines M. Alba Lamb

If you ever find yourself driving up the Bronx River Parkway in New York City on a weekend evening after 6pm, try to make a detour off the 233rd Street exit. If you eat meat, I promise you won’t be disappointed.  A crew of Trinidadian men set-up two smokers and a variety of grills and cook jerked chicken, pork, beef, and fish until dawn, relying on the after-party crowd to flood the block despite the early hour.  The food is deceptively simple and delicious. Relying on family recipes and pure instinct for flavor these men carry on a tradition that spans all if not most cultures, ethnicities, nations, and families: cooking outdoors.

Outdoor cooking is most celebrated here in the U.S, during the summer. We’re encouraged to buy grills for our fathers on Father’s Day, are accosted by displays of hot dog and hamburger buns every time we enter a grocery store, and doesn’t it seem like every national holiday or birthday is celebrated with a BBQ? But there is more to outdoor cooking than just barbecue and $500 grills.

A plot of land for $1?! A small investment by Chicago’s Growing home has been transformed into a full-scale organic urban farm & helped transform the neighborhood as well.

Written by Michelle Stearn, Real Time Farms Food Warrior

What can you buy with a dollar? An apple, a small fry from McDonald’s, 4 gumballs, a Coke, or… a plot of land fit to bloom into a revolutionary urban farm on Chicago’s South Side. Yep, it’s true. Six years ago, the City of Chicago sold the 2/3 acre plot in Englewood to Growing Home for one measly buck. And now, not only has the land transformed into a full-scale organic farm, but it has helped transform the neighborhood as well. Their mission is to utilize organic agriculture as a vehicle for job training, employment, and community development. In other words, they are uplifting Chicago’s neighborhoods, one vegetable at a time. All of this is made possible with the hard work of interns seeking transitional employment – many of whom had troubles finding a job, sometimes due to former incarceration, a history of homelessness or substance abuse, or even simply a lack of education.

You might be thinking… This will never work. How will the harvest ever get picked? Those people are not trained in gardening – they have no experience as farmers. Well, consider this: in 2010, Growing Home’s Wood St. Urban Farm (the one I visited) grew and sold over 11,000 pounds of organic produce and brought in over $45,000 as income for the interns! They sell CSA Shares to community members, have a weekly market on Wood St., market their goods at Green City Market, and even sell their goods to Chicago restaurants like Big Bowl. If that’s enough to change your mind about the effectiveness of the program, you can stop reading now. But you probably shouldn’t, because there are so many other things that Growing Home is doing to help the community, it’s mind-boggling.

What do “The Central Role of Food”, Slow Money, and “The Food Dialogues” have in common? Stephanie Georgieff went to Los Angeles to find out.

Written by Stephanie Georgieff, President and Co Founder of Slow Food Redlands, California

I was recently invited to attend an event hosted by the newly formed US Farmers and Ranchers Alliance(USFRA) entitled “The Food Dialogues”. As I made my way down to Los Angeles, where the event was being held, I could help but think of the dialogues that I had recently had within my Slow Food Chapter during our monthly book discussion group. The topic of discussion we chose was Slow Money by Woody Tasch, a passionate plea for reorienting the economy in terms of what is good for food, farms and fertility. This, coupled with the release of a document from Carlo Petrini and Slow Food International entitled “The Central Role of Food,” which was recently sent to Slow Food leaders from around the globe and is designed to promote a major world debate outside and inside the Slow Food and Terra Madre network ahead of the World Congress on October 27 – 29, 2012. These topics, along with the massive event I was about to attend, had me thinking, more than ever, about the role food plays in every aspect of our lives.

Our hosts for the event, USFRA is an alliance consisting of a wide range of prominent famer and rancher led organizations and agricultural partners. “The Food Dialogues” was their second attempt to intersect with popular culture to create awareness around how our food is produced. To their credit, the four panels were populated with representatives from the full spectrum of food interests. Small organic farmers, growers for large corporations, representatives from major food interests, scientists, members of the media and non profits were live streamed in webinar format to anyone who desired to participate. I met representatives from the National Corn Growers Association, the American Soybean Association and the National Pork Board.

Slow Food Denver partners with local organizations to increase availability of garden grown produce in local food pantries

Written by Dana Miller, co-director of Grow Local Colorado

In response to the growing number of people visiting Denver area food pantries and to increase access to healthy and fresh produce for all, area organizations have come together to create Produce for Pantries.

A project of Cooking Matters, Grow Local Colorado, Denver Urban Gardens, Slow Food Denver, Plant a Row for The Hungry, Livewell Colorado, Food Bank of the Rockies, Metro CareRing, Yardharvest, and St. John’s Cathedral, Produce for Pantries connects food pantries with school gardens, community gardens, and home gardens in their neighborhoods to provide locally grown and healthy food and nutrition education to those in need. Through Yardharvest, food pantries will also be connected with fruit gleaned from residents’ trees who have an excess they would like to donate.

The first installment in our “Food and Farming Interviewee of the Month” features 10 year-old leader, Gigi Di Bernardo on how youth are improving the food system.

Written by Slow Food USA’s PR & Marketing Manager, Emily Walsh

As part of a new monthly series here on the blog—“Food and Farming Interviewee of the Month”—we will be speaking with Slow Food leaders and members, and food movement personalities alike.  This month, we sat down with Gabrielle (Gigi) Di Bernardo.

In a world where fast food chains spend $300 million on youth-targeted marketing per year and where for the first time since the early 1800’s, youth are expected to live shorter lives than their parents, it is hard to not feel like the next generation is powerless to defend itself. Despite the challenges though, more young people every day are taking a stand to improve food and farming.

The unbelievably articulate Birke Baehr from the East Coast immediately comes to mind and how the 11-year-old’s wise-beyond-his-years food production commentary earned him a speaking spot on a TEDx event. Or 12-year-old Mason Harvey from Oklahoma, who after being bullied for years, convinced his family to start eating well and exercising. He lost 85 pounds and is not only feeling better, but is happier at school. And most recently, there was 9-year-old Martha Payne from Western Scotland, who spurred quite the media frenzy. Shortly after she began posting pictures of the unappealing, non-nutritious lunches being served to her at school, her blog was shut down by local officials. However with the public outcry that ensued from food personalities such as Jamie Oliver, it was not long before the ban was lifted.

But how about the young people making moves in our own, Slow Food community? I would like you to meet 10-year-old Gabrielle (Gigi) Di Bernardo, who recently received a proclamation from Temecula, CA’s mayor for the food education and environmental work she is doing there. Gigi is the daughter of Leah Di Bernardo, co-leader of Slow Food Temecula and as Leah will proudly tell you, she is a bright little girl with her own big thoughts on food. But I think you will agree when you read the below transcript that her thoughts truly speak for themselves.

Preserving local food culture is more than just soil & seed. Slow Food Asheville’s Appalachian Food Storybank proves that it’s mainly about people.

Written By Deirdra Stockmann, Slow Food USA volunteer and former leader with Slow Food Huron Valley

The hills of Southern Appalachia and the people who live there have long been shaped by their foodways – the cultural, economic and geographic paths that weave people and land together. And those green hills have listened silently as generations have passed down recipes, farming techniques and stories about growing and eating together. People, of course, have listened to these stories as well, but most of them have never been recorded, some have been lost, and countless tales and tricks of the trade reside only in the minds and memories of the region’s elders.

In 2011, Slow Food Asheville created the Appalachian Food Storybank as a way to “acknowledge, honor, and archive Appalachian heritage foods and foodways in order to promote the preservation of diverse local knowledges, natural resources, and food biodiversity.” In less than two years, the program has established a committed group of volunteers, built partnerships with other organizations, and created an enthusiastic buzz among local media and area residents eager to help preserve their own local history.

The first installment in our “Food and Farming Spotlight” features 10 year-old leader, Gigi Di Bernardo on how youth are improving the food system.

Written by Slow Food USA’s PR & Marketing Manager, Emily Walsh

As part of a new monthly series here on the blog—“Food and Farming Spotlight”—we will be speaking with Slow Food leaders and members, and food movement personalities alike.  This month, we sat down with Gabrielle (Gigi) Di Bernardo.

In a world where fast food chains spend $300 million on youth-targeted marketing per year and where for the first time since the early 1800’s, youth are expected to live shorter lives than their parents, it is hard to not feel like the next generation is powerless to defend itself. Despite the challenges though, more young people every day are taking a stand to improve food and farming.

The unbelievably articulate Birke Baehr from the East Coast immediately comes to mind and how the 11-year-old’s wise-beyond-his-years food production commentary earned him a speaking spot on a TEDx event. Or 12-year-old Mason Harvey from Oklahoma, who after being bullied for years, convinced his family to start eating well and exercising. He lost 85 pounds and is not only feeling better, but is happier at school. And most recently, there was 9-year-old Martha Payne from Western Scotland, who spurred quite the media frenzy. Shortly after she began posting pictures of the unappealing, non-nutritious lunches being served to her at school, her blog was shut down by local officials. However with the public outcry that ensued from food personalities such as Jamie Oliver, it was not long before the ban was lifted.

But how about the young people making moves in our own, Slow Food community? I would like you to meet 10-year-old Gabrielle (Gigi) Di Bernardo, who recently received a proclamation from Temecula, CA’s mayor for the food education and environmental work she is doing there. Gigi is the daughter of Leah Di Bernardo, co-leader of Slow Food Temecula and as Leah will proudly tell you, she is a bright little girl with her own big thoughts on food. But I think you will agree when you read the below transcript that her thoughts truly speak for themselves.

Back to school time. Planning on picking up an apple for your teacher’s desk? Ever wonder where this tradition came from? Have you thought about what apple to bring? Read on…

Written by Kelley McCrudden, Slow Food USA intern

With children all over the country heading back to school this month and next, what better way to start the year off than by giving an apple to the new teacher in your life?

The origin of gifting an apple on the first day of school is a bit of a mystery. Many believe the practice stems from the role of the apple as a divine food or source of immortality from ancient Greek mythology, while others link the apple to the lesson of right and wrong through the story of Adam and Eve. Some say it began in early colonial America when teachers were paid with the fruit and other foods in exchange for lessons. Provided that apples were some of the hardiest fruits grown in New England- often stored in cellars through the winter months- apples may have naturally become the most prevalent form of compensation.

Regardless of which story you choose to believe, it’s easy to see that giving an apple away is a smart decision. Not only are apples a healthy (only 80 calories) and a tasty treat, they are in season this time of year and will be coming to grocery stores throughout the country in mass quantities.

We’ve teamed up with Daniel Klein and the folks over at Perennial Plate to deliver monthly video stories, our second dispatch features a truly unique youth summer camp.

The Perennial Plate is a fantastic documentary series that explores socially responsible, sustainable and adventurous eating across the U.S.  Slow Food USA has a video content partnership with Perennial to showcase one of our favorite films every month.

This Month’s Perennial Plate Feature: Youth Farm

Lunch is Jerusha’s favorite meal of the day. It could be yours too and it’s not as hard as you may think!

Written by Jerusha Klemperer, Director of Communications for FoodCorps & former Associate Director of Campaigns and Projects for Slow Food USA

As I’m writing this, I’m eating lunch. Lunch is a favorite meal of mine, because it’s almost always something I’ve cooked myself. I live in a city, and live the kind of life in which dinner out is a frequent occurrence. But lunch is my respite from all that.

When I worked at Slow Food USA I was part of a terrific lunch coop with some other staff members, which meant that I ate home cooked meals every day for 9 months: everything from pernil to cabbage dumplings to gazpacho.  We got our recipes from old favorite cookbooks like Bloodroot, from terrific online recipe communities like Food52, from favorite food blogs like 101 Cookbooks, and from family recipes passed down from our parents. Sometimes we were just making stuff up. I loved it all because it made lunch special, which is something I am still trying to maintain, despite no longer being part of a coop.

I work at FoodCorps now (Slow Food USA is a founding partner), where our service members around the country spend their days trying to make school food—and school lunch in particular—healthier for children. What better example can I set than to make my lunch fresh, healthy and delicious, too?

So today it’ s day 3 of rice from a recipe I invented to use the corn and scallions from my CSA; and a crustless quiche with quinoa and kale, from a recipe that caught my eye on Food52 (and that could use up various bits and bobs languishing on my refrigerator shelves).

It’s worth mentioning (humblebrag alert!) that the corn stock I used was in my freezer from LAST SUMMER when I boiled all my used corncobs, made stock, and smugly stuck it in my freezer for “the long, hard winter.” It is now August. Ack.

Thoughts from 2 Colorado farmers looking to help bring down the average age for farmers & open up more opportunities for a new generation of growers.

Written by Aylin Saribudak, Real Time Farms Food Warrior

The average age of the American farmer is currently 57, which worries many who are watching the U.S. food system. Luckily, Remy Van Grack and Maya Osterman, of Lindenmeier Farm, are part of a new generation of farmers determined to roll back that number. They generously share their time with me to offer some of their philosophy, experience, and advice for those interested in how to get started in small-scale agriculture.

Maya feels that farming enables herself and Remy to effect positive change on a personal level. According to Maya, small-scale organic and sustainable agriculture has become increasingly popular over the past few years for many reasons. She feels it is good for the local economy and culture, comparatively positive for the environment and community health, and small-scale agriculture helps with food security. Food security is a serious issue – a handful of multi-national corporations increasingly control the food system.

Back to school time! The biggest change most students will see will be on cafeteria trays. Check out these 15 innovative ways schools are making lunches healthier.

Written by Seyyada A. Burney, Nourishing the Planet

As summer draws to a close, it’s time for kids to go back to school. Sadly, this often means a return to terribly unhealthy school lunches filled with fried chicken, pizza pockets, sugary drinks, and high-calorie snacks. School food can jeopardize the health and well-being of America’s next generation, but fortunately, it’s also the best place to start addressing the obesity epidemic—one in three children is obese or overweight, increasing the risks of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and liver problems later in life. This needs to change.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) feeds 32 million kids every year and is expanding rapidly as more families qualify for free or reduced-price meals. These lunches represent the primary source of nourishment for many children, but few schools have the facilities or the know-how to prepare fresh food—only the ability to reheat froze, processed foods high in sodium and fat. Even cafeterias that serve more fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are often forced to subsidize programs using vending machines and snack bars loaded with sugar and high fructose corn syrup due to fiscal deficits and a lack of student interest.

The Japanese bento box is a cultural food tradition that is perfect for packing a lunch, but also packs flair and color that kids love!

Written by and originally featured on The Huffington Post’s Kitchen Daily

We all know school cafeteria school lunch isn’t something to look forward to, and mom’s packed lunches aren’t always the cat’s meow, either. But imagine a lunch so great that it would be the envy of the entire cafeteria. The Japanese bento box, compartmental by nature, is the perfect box to pack lunch in. Not only that, but there’s a tradition in Japan of decorating the food in a bento box to look pleasing to the eye (called “kawaii”)—which, of course, is perfect for kids.

These bento box lunches from our blogger friends are designed for kids. Okay, so they may require some extra time to assemble, but at least you know your kids are eating a healthy lunch made with love and care (let’s hope they’re not trading them for bags of chips). Kids deserve a better, more fun school lunch and these bento boxes guarantee just that.

What do you think of bento box lunches packed for kids? Let us know in the comments.

The second installment in our “Food and Farming Spotlight” features Slow Food Piedmont Triad’s leader, Margaret Norfleet-Neff, and her daughter and the chapter’s youth leader, Salem Neff. 

Written by Slow Food USA’s PR & Marketing Manager, Emily Walsh

Symbiosis between a mother and child begins at infancy when the child still depends upon them for survival and it usually starts to taper off as the child becomes more self-sufficient.  But by the time the child reaches adulthood, they and their mother, while still close, are often living separate lives that are independent of one another in many ways. 

I wanted to preface the following transcript with this idea because I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Margaret Norfleet-Neff and Salem Neff, and they truly have one of the most special parent-child relationships I’ve ever encountered.  In addition to sharing the same life passion—enjoying and connecting others with Good, Clean and Fair food—they work together.  And while we all know working with family has a reputation for being a bad idea, this mother-daughter duo seems to know the secret.  Always ready to jump in and help the other finish their sentences, they are seemingly as comfortable challenging the other to think about things differently. 

In addition to their work with the local Slow Food chapter (Slow Food Piedmont Triad), Margaret and Salem own Beta Verde, a local food project that plays a variety of roles in Winston-Salem’s (North Carolina) food and farming community.  From planning farm-to-table events, to partnering on research and the development of new food and agricultural initiatives, to specializing in preservation of the season’s harvest, the project promotes Slow Food and makes more people more aware of the story behind their food.  They’re also market managers for the Old Salem Cobblestone Farmers Market, which U.S. News and World Report recently voted one of America’s 11 best farmers markets.

So without further ado, please meet Margaret and Salem!

The second installment in our “Food and Farming Spotlight” features Slow Food Piedmont Triad’s leader, Margaret Norfleet-Neff, and her daughter and the chapter’s youth leader, Salem Neff. 

Written by Slow Food USA’s PR & Marketing Manager, Emily Walsh

Symbiosis between a mother and child begins at infancy when the child still depends upon them for survival and it usually starts to taper off as the child becomes more self-sufficient.  But by the time the child reaches adulthood, they and their mother, while still close, are often living separate lives that are independent of one another in many ways. 

I wanted to preface the following transcript with this idea because I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Margaret Norfleet-Neff and Salem Neff, and they truly have one of the most special parent-child relationships I’ve ever encountered.  In addition to sharing the same life passion—enjoying and connecting others with Good, Clean and Fair food—they work together.  And while we all know working with family has a reputation for being a bad idea, this mother-daughter duo seems to know the secret.  Always ready to jump in and help the other finish their sentences, they are seemingly as comfortable challenging the other to think about things differently. 

In addition to their work with the local Slow Food chapter (Slow Food Piedmont Triad), Margaret and Salem own Beta Verde, a local food project that plays a variety of roles in Winston-Salem’s (North Carolina) food and farming community.  From planning farm-to-table events, to partnering on research and the development of new food and agricultural initiatives, to specializing in preservation of the season’s harvest, the project promotes Slow Food and makes more people more aware of the story behind their food.  They’re also market managers for the Old Salem Cobblestone Farmers Market, which U.S. News and World Report recently voted one of America’s 11 best farmers markets.

So without further ado, please meet Margaret and Salem!

Slow Food chapters support and learn from refugees, immigrants and new citizens.

Written By Deirdra Stockmann, Slow Food USA volunteer and former leader with Slow Food Huron Valley

Growing food has long been part of the livelihood and survival of immigrants to the United States. Still today, as they work to make their way in a new place, many migrants find community and economic opportunity in food production. Recently, two Slow Food chapters – Slow Food Minnesota Twin Cities and Slow Food Dallas – have allied with local non-profits to support the agricultural efforts of refugees in their region. The partnerships, so far, have raised funds, expanded community gardens, promoted markets, and shared many memorable meals.

Slow Food Minnesota and the Minnesota Food Association
When Jane Rosemarin began her term as the Slow Food Minnesota leader a few years ago, she wanted to broaden the scope of the chapter’s activities. Anchored in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Slow Food Minnesota was the first of four chapters in the state. Since the chapter began in 1999 it has focused on connecting farmers and consumers, taste education, and to a large extent, sending area farmers and chefs to Terra Madre.