Slow Food Nation '08

The program to support the Youth Food Movement at Slow Food Nation brings young people together in order to build and empower networks of students and young farmers, cooks, artisans, activists and eaters; give them new resources; link them with mentors in the wider food movement; allow them to inspire others; and gather, have fun and share meals in the spirit of Slow Food.

Participants represent the generation inheriting our food system, i.e. those who are roughly 16-34 years of age and are going to be socially responsible eaters and stewards of our planet.

The program features:

• Wednesday, August 27

  Opening Retreat

  Location: Slide Ranch
  Time: Overnight; Wednesday 2:00pm to Thursday morning

  An overnight retreat for 40+ young people to meet, camp out and begin a global youth food movement. Slide Ranch is a teaching farm on the California coast very near to San Francisco. They have generously offered to host an overnight camping trip for youth participants. Transportation is by carpool and meals are simple and shared.

  www.slideranch.com

• Thursday, August 28

  “Hey, Let’s Be Friends”

  Location: Bull Moose Hunting Society Warehouse, 23rd and York Streets, San Francisco
  Time: 7:30pm

  A social event for all youth participants to meet and make friends, hosted in partnership with The Greenhorns and the Bull Moose Hunting Society. The event features screenings of documentaries by young filmmakers; a seed swap and teach-in led by Heather Flores, author of Food not Lawns; live music; and wild boar (roasted and eaten, not greased and let loose).

  www.thegreenhorns.net
  www.foodnotlawns.com
  www.bullmoosehunting.com

• Saturday, August 30

  Workshops

  Location: 18 Reasons, 593 Guerrero Street, San Francisco
  Time: 10am – 5pm

  18 Reasons, a gallery space in San Francisco that builds community through food and art, is partnering with Slow Food Nation to host teach-ins, roundtables and demonstrations at their location in San Francisco’s Mission District. All workshops are free and open to however many can squeeze into the room (30, tops).

  10:30 – 11:30
  “Terra Madre.” Youth delegates past and future introduce Terra Madre and make a master plan for taking over this year’s event, the theme of which is the international Youth Food Movement. Presented by: Jerusha Klemperer, Slow Food USA; and Dave Prior, University of Gastronomic Sciences.

  12:00 – 1:30
  “Jam Jam.” A simultaneous demonstration of jam- and music-making. Ingredients foraged from urban backyards; musicians poached from local street corners. Presented by: Monica Linzner and Asiya Wadud, Forage Oakland/Forage San Francisco.

  2:00 – 3:30
  “Student Food Movement.” Leaders from the Real Food Challenge and Slow Food on Campus host a roundtable discussion on campus dining and student activism. Presented by: Kristen Rasmussen, Arizona State University; Erin Gaines, Stanford University and the Real Food Challenge; Siv Lie, Slow Food Boston University.

  4:00 – 5:30
  “Tools & Tales from Young Farmers.” Young farmers from around the country share stories and sow the seeds for 50 million more to follow their example. Concludes with a tour of a secret backyard farm around the corner. Presented by: Severine von Tscharner Fleming, The Greenhorns; Zoe Bradbury, Groundswell Farm; Brooke Budner, SF Victory Gardens.

• Sunday, August 31

  Open House at the Edible Schoolyard

  Location: Edible Schoolyard, Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, 1781 Rose Street, Berkeley, CA
  Time: 2:00pm – 5:00pm

  Wendy Johnson and Vera Fabian of the Edible Schoolyard invite participants in the Youth Food Movement at Slow Food Nation to visit the garden and kitchen classroom learn about hands-on edible education in public schools.

  The Edible Schoolyard is a non-profit program located on the campus of Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in Berkeley, California. The cooking and gardening program grew out of a conversation between chef and author Alice Waters, and former King Middle School Principal Neil Smith. Planning commenced in 1995 and two years later, more than an acre of asphalt parking lot had been cleared. A cover crop was planted to enrich the soil, and in 1997, the school’s unused 1930s cafeteria kitchen was refurbished to house the kitchen classroom. Today, the program is integrated into the middle school’s daily life. The organic garden is flourishing, plants feed and outgrow the adolescents who nurtured them, and the kitchen is filled with delicious smells, music, and enthusiastic young chefs.

• Monday, September 1

  Eat-In

  Location: Dolores Park, 20th and Dolores Streets, San Francisco
  Time: 11am – 3pm

  250 students and young farmers, cooks, food artisans, activists and eaters gather for an Eat-In in San Francisco’s Dolores Park to demonstrate that changing the way we eat can be simple, joyous and accessible to everyone. Slow Food Nation is proud to partner with Outstanding in the Field for an extraordinary event that closes six days of events for Youth Food Movement participants.

  Celebrating the leaders of a future Slow Food Nation, the Eat-In is an opportunity for the young people inheriting our food system to share stories, break bread and discuss the next steps in building a global movement of young people committed to bringing good, clean and fair food to everyone. Teams of young people from all over the country will pick up produce and ingredients from local markets on Saturday and Sunday and then take them back to kitchens, where up-and-coming chefs will lead them in preparing food together.

  The meal is free, but all participants must register for the Eat-In and either join a cooking team or bring their own dish to our table. REGISTRATION IS NOW CLOSED.

  Over the past eight years, Outstanding in the Field has staged dinners in farmlands across America, bringing together local chefs, farmers, food artisans and diners at its long, iconic table. The group’s mission is to shine the spotlight on the people who labor to produce the good food on our communal plates. Outstanding founder Jim Denevan will be present at the Eat-In with his 16 year-old son Brighton, who will bring vegetables from his garden. We gather to honor the young people who are planting the seeds of a future food system that produces healthy, delicious, just and sustainable food for all.

If you have any questions, please contact Gordon Jenkins at gordon@slowfoodnation.org or (415) 369-9950.