The Slow Food USA Blog

Relief for Iowa

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As recently as nine months or so ago, we used to talk about "the true cost of food," hoping that Americans could begin to understand that the ultra-cheap food as fuel they were eating was priced un-naturally low, that farmers and farmworkers were paying the price, and hoping that people could/would learn how to pay more for higher quality food; or that our government could support and pass a Farm Bill that rejected commodity subsidies. It's surreal and upsetting now to see food prices rise and rise, but not for the reasons we hoped.

If you'd like to donate money to help Iowa farmers, you can do so through our Terra Madre Relief Fund. Slow Food USA created the Terra Madre Relief Fund in 2005. The grassroots-driven fund was created after Hurricane Katrina's tremendous storm surge caused extensive damage along the central Gulf Coast. For many of the region's farmers, food producers, and fishers, the disaster laid waste to their livelihoods.

The Relief Fund was inspired by Terra Madre, the bi-annual event hosted by Slow Food International in Turin, Italy, which brings farmers and other food producers from around the world together in a network of solidarity. Much of the fundraising has been marshaled through local Slow Food events organized by convivium leaders and Terra Madre network participants as well as through individual giving. The Terra Madre Relief Fund helped many of the Gulf Coast region's food producers begin to rebuild the area's gastronomic and agricultural landscape.

Today we seek to aid farmers in the Midwest. Your donation will help disaster victims replenish their livestock, replace damaged or destroyed buildings, buy new seed, repair damaged equipment, and more. Help our farmers rebuild, replant and return to market.

Also: if you live in the Bay Area and have been meaning to subscribe to Edible San Francisco, now is the time. Between now and July 1st, 100% of their subscription price will go towards Iowa farmers.