Slow Food Baltimore celebrates their region’s culinary heritage through a robust bi-monthly book club that showcases the beauty and zest of simple, multicultural traditions that are supported by delicious potluck discussions.  Their community-facing programming takes an active approach to diversity and inclusion by rotating to a different neighborhood or region for each subsequent event.

Slow Food Vegas deepened its commitment to equity, inclusion and justice by supporting community gardens in low socioeconomic communities through volunteer work to maintain the spaces and by providing free seeds as well as information on the local growing schedule.  This support is all done with the goal of encouraging the community to grow their own produce.

Slow Food East Bay explored the world of heirloom beans in a festival atmosphere with games, wine and community organizations.  The chapter hand-picked six local chefs based on a set of criteria including a low public or social media exposure and a wide range of cultural backgrounds so that the “Bean Feed” could help catapult their careers through visibility at the event.  The support for chefs also went on to include completion of city applications and permitting, health inspection requirements, and even providing volunteers to help as sous chefs and greeters at the event.

Slow Food Phoenix hosted a film screening on Slow Food Live focusing on finding new ways of securing food freedom and sovereignty.  Following the videos, the main subjects and viewers participated in a discussion sparked by content in the films surrounding “Feeding Communities, Changing the Narrative.”

Slow Food NYC has donated over 640 lbs of locally grown food to surrounding community organizations and neighborhoods through their Urban Harvest program.  Through community engagement, the harvest has provided beneficial nutrition while also giving people the opportunity to connect with foods that have cultural or familial significance to them; like the 70+lbs of harvested Callaloo that were then used in neighborhood kitchens.

Slow Food Metro North NY brought the community together with a “Ramp Dance Party & Potluck”. Those who gathered shared homemade food, incorporating ramps that they harvested from a volunteer’s ramp patch. They nourished diversity by sharing experience and knowledge about indigenous edible plants. There was even ramp vodka!

Slow Food Columbus hosted a panel discussion exploring The Choices We Make when it comes to consuming meat.  Representation of opinion on the matter included diverse viewpoints, from advocating for meat consumption to supporting a vegan diet.

Slow Food Land & Sea (Friday Harbor, WA) worked with volunteers at their Learning Garden, developing what was once a parking area to become a resource for learning, teaching and sharing for all ages from student groups.  The harvest of flowers (both pollinator and edible) and heritage and Ark of Taste crops is donated to local residents who receive various social services.  The space is host to many pollinators and wildlife and provides a space for community members to nourish their soul as well as their bodies. 

Slow Food in the Tetons distributed $50,000 worth of discounts through their Local Food Discount Program. Support is offered to “anyone who finds cost to be a barrier to buying local food” at the Winter Farmers Market, Farm Stand and Online Marketplace. Through a sliding scale payment system, customers were given the opportunity to select a 0%, 10%, 25% or 50% discount on their food purchases. The Local Food Discount Program has been extremely successful in increasing access to local delicious and nutritious food in the community.

Slow Food Beaumont members have hosted a monthly fresh produce market stand for the past eight years, serving local low-income neighborhood residents living in a food desert. Most of the produce is sourced from the Beaumont Farmers’ Market, and it is all sold at only 50 cents a pound!  In the event that any of the produce is not sold, it is donated to a local non-profit soup kitchen called Some Other Place.

Slow Food Bluegrass continued hosting their annual Ark of Taste event. The event focuses on removing barriers for food equity and access, and mitigating food deserts in the community. Local chefs come together to create a four course meal with proceeds benefiting Louisville Community Grocery, a cooperatively-owned grocery store. 

Slow Food Baton Rouge supports school gardens and the integration of gardens into the classroom curriculum where children grow herbs and vegetables and participate in taste tests with produce from their harvest.  This provides children with an opportunity to learn life long skills regarding food literacy and the understanding of where food comes from.  The gardens have become a hands-on science laboratory, extending the curriculum’s capacity.

Slow Food Houston teaches sustainable farming as Minecraft Educators through one-day day camp challenges with local game shops. 

Slow Food Santa Fe continues to broadcast Food Out Loud in New Mexico with good, clean, fair programming that includes guests who are farmers, educators, and leaders in policy work.  

Slow Food Boulder supported the successful campaign to pass Proposition E in Colorado. This legislation is a step toward bringing back free lunch in public schools. 

Slow Food DC uses their newsletter to highlight opportunities for the community to participate in local food advocacy. Issues include school lunches, food insecurity among seniors, and prison meals. Newsletter content provides practical tools to either present testimony, submit written testimony, or call legislators.

Slow Food Whidbey Island centers their mission on connecting the community. Volunteers use their power as a nonprofit organization to amplify the voices of farmers and business owners who align with the Slow Food values.

Slow Food Denver organized affinity group conversations to seed camaraderie and big changes.  Co-hosted with a partner organization, their Let’s Talk Food event was an engaging panel discussion that connected farmers and food producers around the joys and challenges of farming in Colorado.

Slow Food Case Western Reserve University hosted a speaker from the university’s campus food provider to educate members on how the school has implemented more environmentally sustainable practices in their business model. Following the presentation, the group brainstormed various sustainability initiatives for individuals and corporations.  This discussion provided a catalyst for good, clean, fair policy work as it relates to college students.

Slow Food Emory developed a “Sunday Produce Initiative” that reduces food waste by collecting surplus produce from a weekly farmers’ market, gathers community through volunteer service work and provides healthy, nourishing food in a buffet-style gathering for cancer patients and their families at a community residence.