
A celebration of nine individuals going above and beyond for good, clean and fair food for all in 2020.
Join us on December 6 to celebrate this year’s Snailblazers, raise a glass in their honor with good food enthusiasts around the country, and turn that COVID pivot into a little dance.
We are blown away with the creative and resilient response of individuals and communities in response to the pandemic this year, and their action around social justice. Slow Food leaders and members nominated over 70 outstanding people, and a panel of independent judges selected one person in each of eight categories — biodiversity, children + education, cooking + community, emerging young leader, family farming, fishing + waterways, food + ag advocacy, and food justice.
Meet the 2020 Snailblazers
Biodiversity Snailblazer: Michelle Week
Children and Education Snailblazer: Neha Shah
Cooking and Community Snailblazer: Phil Jones
Emerging Young Leader Snailblazer: Madi Taylor & Lauren Nelson
Family Farming Snailblazer: Cory Carman
Fishing and Waterways Snailblazer: Talia Young
Food + Agriculture Advocacy Snailblazer: Adrian Lipscombe
Food Justice Snailblazer: Sean Sherman
The PARTY
December 6, 2020, 5pm EST
MUSIC BY IRKA MATEO
Dominican singer-songwriter and healer Irka Mateo will open our Awards with the Ceremony of the Seven Directions, an ancestral ritual honoring the four cardinal points, the sky, the earth, and our hearts. This ceremony is performed in Indigenous communities for the opening of important or sacred events. The ceremony will include Indigenous Taino songs played on the mayowakan, the traditional Taino drum. We will be singing Atabeira, a song to our universal mother, Yucahu, a song to our universal father and Maboba, a song that celebrates the resilience of the Indigenous people.
Not just another zoom call
We know there’s been a lot of zooming happening since the Spring, but we promise this one won’t be like all the rest! We’ve got some fun surprises up our sleeves, so put on that party shirt and join the fun.
very enticing raffle items
We’re raffling off some very exciting and delicious things, from a custom fishing rod to a private cocktail class with the Cocktail Bandits!
Awards presented by a few of our food heroes

Pierre Thiam

Barbara Massaad

Alice Waters

Isabella Rossellini

Raj Patel

Edie Mukiibi
Snailblazers in conversation with the Heritage radio network
Attendees will have the opportunity to watch and join conversations between Snailblazers and some of your favorite podcast hosts from the Heritage Radio Network!

Lisa Elaine Held
The Farm Report

Chef Aarón Sánchez
Cooking in Mexican from AtoZ

Hannah Fordin
Time for Lunch, Hard Core, Meat + Three

Harry Rosenblum
Time for Lunch

Jenny Dorsey
The Big Food Question
Cocktail Demo with the Cocktail bandits
We’re stirring up a ‘Slow Motion’ cocktail with Johnny and Taneka of the Cocktail Bandits, to raise a toast to the 2020 Snailblazers!
Get your ingredients ready and raise your glass with us:

What is a Snailblazer?
Snailblazers are people who have gone above and beyond this year for good, clean and fair food for all. These individuals have made a significant impact in their region and are currently and actively engaged in the work. We have 8 categories: biodiversity, children + education, cooking + community, emerging young leader, family farming, fishing + waterways, food + ag advocacy, and food justice.