Civil Eats

Day 2 of the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden installation brought some amazing volunteers down to the Civic Center to dig up the rest of the sod. We were blessed today by the brawn and dedication of Rachel Alschuler, Molly Copans, Eric Danch, Luke Hass, Nikki Lennart, Blaine Merker, Karen Nemsick, Matthew Roth, Jeny Smith, Monica Via Rengo and Kathy Ziccardi.

Using a Deere tractor and shovels and hands, the team moved most of the sod off the installation site. Despite the intense physical work, the volunteer team, lead by Manager John Bela, were enthusiastic and energized by their involvement in helping to create the Victory Garden.

By the end of the day, much of the sod had been moved to the side of the project. Without their dedication and support, this civic community garden wouldn’t be possible. If you would like to volunteer in the next few days to help us get the Victory Garden under way, please contact us at info@slowfoodnation.org with “Victory Garden” in the subject line.

So much of Slow Food Nation is being made possible due to the generosity of the time and energy donated by hundreds of individuals, organizations and businesses. In order to bring the thousands of producers, farmers, presenters and advocates to the table, we are relying on donations, in-kind contributions and pro bono assistance. You can learn more about the partners who are making Slow Food Nation possible on our web site at: slowfoodnation.org/partners

Photos by Naomi Starkman

Naomi Starkman is a food policy consultant to Consumers Union and others. She is the co-founder and editor of Civil Eats and Kitchen Table Talks, a local food forum in San Francisco, a board member of 18 Reasons, a nonprofit connecting community through food, and is on the Circle of Friends Council for the Community Alliance with Family Farmers. She served as the Director of Communications & Policy at Slow Food Nation ’08 and has worked as a media consultant at The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, GQ and WIRED magazines. She was previously a senior publicist at Newsweek magazine and was the Director of Communications for the American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR). From 1997 to 2000, she served as Deputy Executive Director of the S.F. Ethics Commission. Naomi works with various clients on food policy and advocacy and is an aspiring organic grower, having worked on several farms.