Slow Food RI

From Peter Buffett’s advent calendar, click here to see the video.

Plus, a little information on Mario Batali’s foundation. The mission of the Mario Batali Foundation is to feed, protect, educate and empower children, encouraging them to dream big while providing them with the necessary tools to become an active force for change in today’s world. In an effort to do so, the MBF strives to ensure all children are well read, well fed and well cared for. Help Mario make a difference in children’s lives locally, nationally, and abroad!

To learn more and/or donate, visit
www.mariobatalifoundation.org.

This article from FoodNavigator.com caught my eye:

Reducing meat and dairy consumption, eating fewer fatty and sugary foods, and wasting less food are the three changes to consumption habits that will have the biggest impact on making diets more sustainable, says a new report.

The Sustainable Development Commission was asked by the UK government’s Department for Environment, Food, Rural Affairs to map out evidence on sustainable diets and look at synergies and tensions between public health, the environment, social inequalities, and economic stability.

It points out that no one, universal definition of a sustainable diet exists, but that this must be addressed for the government to meet its goal of a sustainable, secure and healthy food supply. Until now, the healthy eating element has been centre stage.

For the full article, click here. And to read the report, click here.

What do you think? What steps are you taking to make sustainable food choices?

This idea from Australian condiment-maker Beerenberg deserves a quick mention – perhaps the concept will spread to the U.S., helping us track the path that our food travels.

Beerenberg has added a feature to their website whereby consumers can enter the bar code on the product they have purchased and trace its origins from “soil to shelf”, complete with photos of the people who made the product, a product overview, and Google mapping to locate the farm where the primary ingredients originated.

For the full article, please visit Springwise’s website.

Slow Food Rhode Island and Farm Fresh Rhode Island are sponsoring their first movie night together on Wednesday, February 25 at Local 121, 121 Washington Street, Providence.

We will be showing James Spione’s documentary, American Farm, about the upstate New York dairy farm that has been in Spione’s mother’s family for over 150 years. His cousin is the fifth generation to face the challenges of running this family farm, and has survived recession and pressure from agribusiness. Now that he is approaching seventy, and with none of his six children interested in assuming responsibility for running the farm, it must be sold.

The film is narrated entirely by the family members and chronicles the history of the farm as well as the social circumstances surrounding small family farming that have led to the decision to sell.

You can have a look at the trailer by clicking here.

As you may know, Local 121 is a restaurant that is dedicated to serving the best locally-raised food available. They work with local farmers to source the best foods from our food system, and, of course, support the wider community with events like this movie night. There will be a buffet of locally-sourced food available for $15 as well as a cash bar. Admission to the movie is free.

The room will open at 6pm and the buffet will be served starting at 6:15pm. The movie will start at 7pm.

Please RSVP to Local 121 at 401-274-2121.

We hope to see you at Local 121 on the 25th!

Hello and welcome to the newsletter and homepage of Slow Food Rhode Island. We’re planning lots of great events and activities for 2009, and are looking forward to getting to know you and to working with you to help build and grow our Slow Food community. Together we can help foster the Slow Food ideals of good, clean, fair food within our state.

We’d love to hear from you – your thoughts on Slow Food, what types of events and activities you’d like to attend or be involved with, and, of course, any interest you have in volunteering with us. Please feel free to email us at slowfoodri401@gmail.com, and we’ll be in touch soon with event dates for Winter 2009.

Keep it Slow,
Amy & the rest of the gang at Slow Food RI