“The quest for slowness, which begins as a simple rebellion against the impoverishment of taste in our lives, makes it possible to rediscover taste. By living slowly, you understand other things, too; by slowing down in comparison to the world, you soon come into contact with what the world regards as its “dumps” of knowledge, which have been deemed slow and therefore marginalized. By exploring the “margins” of slowness, you encounter those pockets of supposedly “minor” culture that are alive in the memories of old people, typical of civilizations that have not yet become frantic—traditions that guide the vital work of good, clean, and fair producers and that are handed down after centuries of empiricism and practical skill.

In coming into contact with this “slow” world, you feel a new (or renewed) relish for life, you sense the potential of different methods and forms of knowledge as counterweights to the direction currently being imparted to the tiller that steers our route toward the future. You reassess the elements of consumer culture, and in rural knowledge, you discover surprisingly simple solutions to problems which speed has made complex and apparently insoluble.”

—Carlo Petrini, Founder of the International Slow Food Movement

To all who cooked, volunteered, donated, or just came to enjoy themselves at Art of Food last night, thank you, thank you, thank you! You helped to make this the best Art of Food yet!

~Kimberly, Kelly, and Bill
Your Slow Food St. Louis Co-Leaders

Slow Food St. Louis is excited to announce that we are the recipient of Whole Foods Market’s “One Dime at a Time” program for January, February and March of 2009! This is at the Brentwood location only. So bring your bags and donate your dimes…..

One Dime at a Time

Whole Foods Market gives 10 cents per bag to customers who re-use their own shopping bags for their purchased groceries. This program reduces our impact on the environment and now supports local non profit groups. Customers will have the choice to accept their cash refund, or donate the cash back to the store’s chosen non profit organization.

We have established the Terra Madre Relief Fund for precisely this purpose.  Some of you may remember of the great successes this fund had, under Poppy Tooker’s able guidance, in raising over $40K to help victims of Katrina and Rita.  Today the fund exists to help all those farmers and food artisans struck by natural disasters nationwide, and right now the focus is on the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

But just as it was for so many after Katrina, such as Kay and Ray Brandhurst, the shrimpers in Louisiana who’s trawler got a new engine thanks to the TM Relief Fund, so that they could get back to providing good, clean, fair food, there is hope for the folks in the Heartland as well.  We intend to help get these farmers back to the markets, and get those markets back up and running.

Please also consider organizing a benefit event within your convivium to help us raise the money that is so desperately needed, or perhaps to refocus an event you already have planned to benefit flood relief.  And please be sure to ask each of your members to give generously at this link or by sending checks (made out to Slow Food USA – with “Terra Madre Relief Fund: Iowa” in the memo) to the address below.

We truly appreciate, and are relying on your generosity.  Please give at the Terra Madre Relief Fund, and feel free to contact me at any time with comments or questions.  Thank you all so very much, and I’ll be in touch soon with more details.

It’s a small start but a sure sign that we’ll all have a bounty of fresh local produce soon.

At the market this weekend:
Biver Farms – organic potted plants and herbs
Cornestone Nutrition and Coffeehouse
Farrar Out Farm Produce and Poultry
Missouri Wildflowers
The Pasta Guy – pasta and rice

Be sure to check out the other Famers’ Markets on our Where to Shop page.

You can find locally produced meats at Local Harvest Grocery on Morganford in Tower Grove. Whole Foods carries some locally produced meats, and Sappington Farmers’ Market is now owned by a Missouri Farmers’ Coop. And there are still farmers’ markets taking place, where you can purchase directly from the farmer. This Saturday, the Maplewood Winter Market takes place at Schlafly Bottleworks from 9 am to 1 pm, and Farrar Out Farm and Greenwood Farms deliver monthly to the Kirkwood Farmers’ Market. Make sure to check out our awesome database of farmers here on the Slow Food St. Louis website. It’s only a start and is still so impressive, thanks to member hard work and devotion. Many farmers welcome customers to come out to the farm or have a nearby farmstand.

This meat produced by small, local farmers is incomparable in flavor and infinitely more healthful—not just because it’s not going to have E coli or mad cow disease, but because it’s raised naturally and offers more nutrition than industrial meat. For more info on this, read Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma or Nina Planck’s Real Food. And here’s a little article from Nina’ website to whet your appetite: http://www.ninaplanck.com/index.php?article=pork_redeemed

On the cover of the Post-Dispatch today is an article on CSAs and the new non-profit Fair Shares, a combined CSA from Slow Food St Louis co-leader Sara Hale and her sister Jamie Choler. This is prime timing for people who have just been introduced to the horrors of the industrial meat industry. You can read the article online.

Visit http://www.fairshares.org to learn about Fair Shares, and listen in tonight on KDHX, FM88.1, from 7:30 to 8:00 as Sara and Jamie discuss Fair Shares and the local food scene. To learn more about other CSAs in the area, visit http://www.localharvest.org.

Farms: Centennial Farms, Claverach Farms, Food Routes, Giles Ranch, Goatsbeard Farm, Hinkebein Hills Farm, Hope Haven Homestead, Kenney Family Organic Produce, La Ferme du Bonheur, Little Brown Cow Dairy, Local Harvest, Norris Farms, Real Milk, Seven Thunder Bison, Shepherd’s Dominion, Shroom Heads, Slow Food St Louis, Weston A Price, Kenney Family, Organic Produce, Eggs and Rabbits, NaturesWayGardens, Morning Dew Farms, Lakeview Farms, Community Supported Garden at La Vista, Luna Farm, Biver Farms, Three Rivers Community Farm, The Backyard Farm on Highway K, Tri-Pointe Farm, “R” Farm, Ozark Natural Gardens, Red Tail Farm, Sydney’s Country Farm, Sunny Creek Farm LLC, Pilgrims’ Acres, Higher Calling Farm, Viox Farms, Misty Glen Farm, Prairie Wind Farm, F & R Farms, WitnessTree Land & Livestock, Indian Creek Farm, Afterthought Farms, R&C Beefalo Farms, Karpinski-Hill Farm, Whispering Spirit Farms, Janzow Farms, Sellfresh Farm, Sangamon Valley Cattle Co, The New Terra Bella Farm 2006, cocklebur achers, Famous Acres, Family Friendly Farm, ShowMe Fresh Farm, Jefferies Orchard, Heirloom Acres Seeds, James Family Farm, Halbrook Family Organic Farm, Coyote Run Buffalo Ranch

Products: Beets, Brussel Sprouts, Carrots, Cauliflower, Collards, Kohlrabi, Radishes, Salad Greens, Blackberries, Cantaloupes, Raspberries, Strawberries, Rabbit, Beef (Grassfed), Duck, Goose, Meats, Bison, Pork, Lamb, Poultry, Chicken, Turkey, Dairy, Eggs, Milk, Fruits, Melons, Watermelons, Vegetables, Arugula, Broccoli, Cabbage, Cucumber, Dry Beans, Edamame Soybeans, Eggplant, Garlic, Green Beans, Green Onions, Hot Peppers, Kale, Lettuce, Mustard Greens, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Rutabagas, Salad Mix, Spinach, Summer Squash, Sweet Corn, Sweet Peppers, Sweet Potatoes, Swiss Chard, Tomatillos, Tomatoes, Turnips, Winter Squash, Zucchini, Other, Bread, Herbs, Jam, Soap

That’s over one hundred pages, so there is still a ways to go.

Our goal is to add significantly more dynamic content as well as update the site more frequently. We hope you will bare with us as we work out the kinks.

Happy Eating!

-Slow Food St. Louis