SFN in review

I had high hopes leaving Portland last Thursday to go down to San Francisco and volunteer at the first ever Slow Food Nation (SFN).  I signed up a month ago when the Bread Bakers Guild collaborated with SFN to find professional bakers to help out at the weekend event.  I was hopeful that I would have the opportunity to meet bakers from all around the nation and chat about bread as well as an opportunity to talk with people attending the convention about the movement of "good, clean, and fair."  When I left the event I found myself wishing I had skipped volunteering to hit the music festival happening on the hill just above the event.

The way I saw Slow Food, with its motto being "good, clean, and fair" was as a movement to inform the world (rich and poor) about farming, buying local, and cooking healthy.  What I found, it seemed, was a group of people who could afford not only the $65.00 admittance fee but also fees and ticket prices reaching  upwards of $250.00 for benefit dinners.  (I realize some of the more "pricey" dinners were fundraisers for Slow Food where the money goes for education and outreach but I didn't realize that fundraising was part of the event).  Coming from the point of view of a volunteer, it was still quite expensive to fly out to CA, find accommodations, pay for food and transportation and then on top of these costs, each lecture, demo, and dinner was extra.  

I had the idea that the SFN was a spin off of Slow Food Terra Madre.  Located in Italy every other year this event brings together farmers and food artisans from all over the world  "to give voice and visibility to the rural food producers who populate our world."  This event in San Francisco, however, seemed to represent the glamor that California had to offer, celebrity chefs and all.  

After much reflection and mixed feelings about the event, I am hoping that the message reached the people who could afford to attend and the essence of the message of building an American food system that is sustainable, just, healthy, and delicious, will "trickle down" and reach the masses.