Civil Eats

Children in the Victory Garden

This is the final part of our 4-part series on the process of creating Slow Food Nation. See the intro to the series here, Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here.

Over the past month, Slow Food Nation has been interviewing and surveying all of the collaborators in the inaugural edition including the team, curators, designers, sponsors, vendors, farmers, food producers and community organizations who built this year’s event. We are gathering the knowledge necessary to make recommendations on the future of Slow Food Nation based on what we learned this year. I hope we’ll be able to announce some concrete next steps with Slow Food USA for the event in the space of a few weeks, but I’d like to share some of the information that we’ve gathered so far. Read More

Labor Day weekend presented a milestone in the sustainable food movement as gourmands and activists convened in the Bay Area at Slow Food Nation’s first pass at assimilating the pleasures of food, food pathway transparency, and open conversation about the policies that govern its production. Attendants and passersby ate, celebrated, and engaged, during a spirited instant when a bare sketch of an embryonic food culture began to appear. Read More

This is part 3 of our 4-part series on the process of creating Slow Food Nation. See the intro to the series here, Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

When I came on as Executive Director in December 2007, Slow Food Nation had exactly one employee. Our dedicated board chair Katrina Heron provided top-level support, but we were a team of just two staff – our content director Sarah Weiner and myself. We had about $70,000 in the bank, and our biggest assets were a clear idea of what elements the event could be built from, the strong vision of a “good, clean, and fair” food system from Slow Food, and the overarching goal of being a platform for a broader food movement. Although Slow Food USA is our parent organization, they were understandably unable to provide any financial resources or any staff support beyond promotion of the event to their membership and planning the Slow Food Convivium leader’s congress to be held during the event. During the months of planning, many California Slow Food Convivium leaders were huge assets, organizing Slow Journeys, fundraisers and joining the Slow Food Nation team. At the peak of our capacity in June and July, the Slow Food Nation team totaled 32 people (average age of 28), about one-third working for free as full-time staff, all crammed into a 1600 sq ft office. The purpose of this post is to tell a bit more of the story of how we grew from December 2007 to September 2008 – with a focus on funding. Read More

This is part 2 of our 4-part series on the process of creating Slow Food Nation. See the intro to the series here and Part 1 here.

The Slow Food Nation team knew that it had to live up to the “Nation” in the title by providing a venue to celebrate America’s foods as part of the mandate of celebrating a good, clean and fair food system. The question was how to do that without requiring that hundreds of food producers come to San Francisco and incur the costs of travel, lodging, and demands on their valuable time. One thing I had heard loud and clear during our initial outreach was that farmers and food artisans were tired of coming to events (Slow Food and other) and being asked to do everything for free, including donate product and work, for the benefit of (often well-heeled) ticket buyers. Read More

This is part 1 of our 4-part series on the process of creating Slow Food Nation. See the intro to the series here.

How best can an event be used to build a “slow food nation”? Katrina Heron, the chair of the SFN board, and I set out to answer that question in December 2007, shortly after we both joined the organization. We convened a creative planning group to assess what the event could achieve, inviting business and non-profit leaders, as well as people who had been involved in the early stages of the event in 2007 when Alice Waters had originally conceived of hosting a grand event celebrating Slow Food. Read More

As the Executive Director of Slow Food Nation, I wholeheartedly disclose my deep conflict of interest in reporting on last weekend’s events. This week, I am writing a series of blog posts about the experience of building Slow Food Nation, on our resources and team, and on what we learned from the event. Read More

Many of us think of wine and cheese as two great tastes that go great together (like pizza and beer, milk and cookies). At Saturday night’s Taste Workshop celebrating American Raw Milk Cheese, we were treated to a different kind of pairing—cheese and beer. Two cheese experts, Jeff Roberts (also a Slow Food USA Board Member and beer aficionado) and Laura Werlin, led us through the tasting of seven cheeses and six craft ales. Read More

On the heels of last weekend’s successful Slow Food Nation event in San Francisco, participants will discuss where the Slow Food Movement should go from here, especially with regard to the world food crisis. This panel will feature food activist and Vice President of Slow Food International Dr. Vandana Shiva, author and Knight Professor of Journalism Michael Pollan, author and scholar Dr. Raj Patel, and farmer and scholar Dr. Frederick Kirschenmann, moderated by author and Professor of Geography Richard Walker. Read More

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As the sun sets on the fourth and final day of Slow Food Nation, we’re thrilled to announce that the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden will remain in place on the lawn of San Francisco City Hall until November. The garden, which has been producing substantial amounts of fresh produce and supplied some of the food for this weekend’s events, has received tremendous support from Mayor Gavin Newsom and the city. Most everyone who has come down to witness the beauty and bounty of the garden has voiced their desires to see this project become a permanent symbol of San Francisco’s progressive position on food, farming, and social justice. Read More

After two days of inspiring talks, I personally feel ready to take some action. Three great panels were packed with the world’s most important food policy thinkers, including farmer and essayist Wendell Berry, who rarely gives public talks, but has been one of the primary thinkers influencing the Slow Food movement in the U.S. Read More

The second day at Slow Food Nation was as sunny as the first, and even more people poured into Civic Center plaza to enjoy the Marketplace, Slow on the Go, the Soapbox, the Victory Garden, and the Food for Thought series nearby at the Herbst Theater. On the other side of the city, thousands of people filled the Taste Pavilions to get their fill of pickles, cheese, ice cream, bread, beer, and much more. Read More

Slow Food Nation is under way, and the panelists at Food for Thought have jumped right in to the discussion of the issues our food system faces, and how to bring about change. Today’s panels discussed the world food crisis, building a new food system, re-localizing food, and the rights of farm workers. Throughout the day, there were many ideas that crossed paths. Read More

Today kicked off Slow Food Nation’s 4-day extravaganza of good, clean and fair food. We have ahead of us many hours of tasting, talking, learning, proposing new policies, and planning systems changes. It was a magnificent day and Civic Center plaza was absolutely electrified with the first batch of visitors who’ve come from far and wide to the bright and sunny (if a little hot) weather of late summer San Francisco. Fortunately the trees that line the garden offer plenty of shade. Read More

Today from 5:00 – 6:00 pm in the rotunda at San Francisco City Hall, come hear the launch of a petition calling for a New Vision for a 21st Century Food, Farm & Agriculture Policy. Framers of the petition include thinkers, producers, and activists who have come together for an unprecedented conversation on how to make our food system good, clean and fair for all Americans, and by extension, for the world. It will be read for all to hear, and then those present will be invited to sign the petition, which can also be signed online, at www.fooddeclaration.org. The petition will then stay at Slow Food Nation, visible for all to see and sign, and afterward it will travel around the country to Slow Food Convivia and NGOs who will host signing parties of their own. Meanwhile, endorsements and comments can be posted on the Food Declaration website, so that everyone can get in on the conversation. Read More

Slow Food Nation is just around the corner, and there are still some tickets available for great talks at Food for Thought. Read More

Taste buds primed for Slow Food Nation’s pavilions have another reason to rejoice about being in the Bay Area just as August melds into September.

This is the only time of the year that the rare and delicious Bronx grape — one of Slow Food USA’s Ark of Taste foods — is ripe for sampling. Read More

In a sold-out room at The Commonwealth Club on August 14, Moderator Naomi Starkman led a discussion about “The Centralization of Our Food System.”

Centralization affects all aspects of our food system, Starkman said, including production, distribution, consumption patterns, and economic cycles. The question is, what does this really mean? Read More

While you’re exploring Slow Food Nation events, consider checking out another landmark environmental event in San Francisco that weekend called Sunday Streets. Read More

Food waste is everywhere you look (and it’s still there if you choose not to). Farmers decide to leave entire fields unharvested when the prices are unfavorable. Supermarkets toss produce that’s the wrong shape or slightly bruised. Diners leave behind half-eaten entrees. There’s probably wasted food lurking somewhere in your fridge. Read More

We’re lucky in San Francisco to have one of the best library systems in the country; 27 branch libraries, plus the main library, which together offer more than 2.5 million items – books, DVDs, CDs and more – FREE to anyone with a library card. Today’s libraries are the ultimate recycler of items and ideas, thriving community centers, and amazing places to slow down and enjoy a good book. Read More

Though the central focus of Slow Food Nation is food and the people and places that enable us to eat—farms and farmers, artisans and bakers, urban gardens and policymakers—this year’s event also boasts incredible architecture and design from some of the best firms in the Bay Area. Thanks to the talents and dedication of this esteemed group, visitors to Slow Food Nation will enjoy delicious food and hear stimulating conversations inside beautiful, sustainable structures designed specifically for this event. Read More

This coming Saturday, August 16, in the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden, the city of San Francisco is organizing a Community Day for residents of the Bay Area to come together around food, gardening, and the power of local communities working together to improve the city.

Daniel Homsey, program manager for the Neighborhood Empowerment Network (NEN), has his finger on the pulse of neighborhood organizations and community events around the city. “We are hoping community members from the all corners of the City, from the Outer Richmond avenues to the Bayview, will come out and participate in this exciting day full of puppet shows, carnival games, and tours of the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden,” says Homsey.

Residents will have the opportunity to tour the gardens and hear the garden managers explain why they chose certain vegetables for the SF Victory Garden and how the growth of the gardens is progressing. The Sustainability Road Show will be there with their Sustainability Resource Fair, complete with puppets and a carnival show. The fun-filled day will offer San Franciscans a chance to learn more about the city’s edible demonstration garden and to take part in this project that promotes healthy local food and shows the community some different ways to live a more environmentally sustainable life.

The Community Day is being put on in partnership with the SF Victory Garden Project, Slow Food Nation, the Sustainable Living Roadshow, and the Neighborhood Empowerment Network; along with the city of San Francisco and its partners, Garden for the Environment, Department for the Environment, Department of Health, Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, Norcal, San Francisco Department of Recreation and Park, and the Public Utilities Commission.

Photo by Daniel Homsey

As the nation’s leading dairy state and second-largest producer of cheese, California is a natural location for Slow Food Nation’s Cheese Pavilion—an homage to all things cheesy. Read More

“A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine.”

–Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste (1825)

When most of us think of American wine regions, myself included, we think Napa, Sonoma, Willamette Valley and Walla Walla. But did you know that Pennsylvania makes a great ice wine? Or that you can get a sparkling wine from New Mexico or Missouri? Read More

The Commonwealth Club’s special month-long “How We Eat” speaker series continued last Wednesday, August 6, with a panel presented in association with Slow Food Nation. The session—the first of three co-hosted by Slow Food Nation—brought together panelists Kevin Lunny, Owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Company; Jessica Prentice, author of Full Moon Feast and co-owner of Three Stone Hearth Community Supported Kitchen; and Helene York, Director of Bon Appetit Management Company Foundation, for a conversation about “Eating the Right Way.”  The discussion, moderated by Slow Food Nation Communications & Policy Director Naomi Starkman, took place in front of a full house at the Commonwealth Club. Read More

Pickling and fermentation were probably invented out of necessity, as pre-industrial societies needed ways to preserve the harvest and provide sustenance through the winter. In more recent times, pickling and fermentation have become ways to create new flavors, enliven a meal, eat locally throughout the year, or improve the nutritional value and digestibility of a set of ingredients. Recent feature articles in the food sections of the San Francisco Chronicle and Los Angeles Times point to a new popularity for pickles in restaurants and home kitchens. Read More

Slow Food Nation is partnering with Whole Foods Market , the world’s leading natural and organic foods supermarket and America’s first certified organic retailer. Whole Foods Market is the lead sponsor of the Taste Pavilions — Slow Food Nation’s grand celebration of good, clean and fair food, featuring 15 individual pavilions showcasing the country’s best cheese, bread, wine, charcuterie, coffee, chocolate, ice cream, pickles and chutneys, honey and preserves, and much more. 1,600 discounted tickets for the Sunday Afternoon Taste Pavilion (Aug. 31, 5 to 9 p.m), are on sale now at all 23 Whole Foods Market stores in Northern California. Whole Foods Market is the only retailer to sell hard-copy tickets for $58, 10 percent off the retail price. Read More

Tea, Camellia sinensis, is one of the most amazing plants used by humans. There are few foods that offer up such a wide variety of flavors from a single part of the plant (the leaves) with a single preparation method (steeping in hot water). Read More

Cascada de Flores is a local Bay Area band that celebrates the diverse traditions of Latin American music and dance. Mexican and Cuban cultures are two examples of how very different cultures evolved. The indigenous relationship with the land, the sounds and flavors brought by the Europeans and the influence of the African diaspora resulted in unique expressions of music, food, language and religion. Read More