Youth Food Movement Delegation Joins Slow Food Leaders in Puebla, Mexico
New York City, NY: Some of the most exciting and innovative work in the food movement today is being done by people under the age of twenty-five. University students are changing the food served in their cafeterias, and growing food on their campus greens. Young leaders are creating food communities in under-served areas, and changing the status quo. In order to highlight the work being accomplished by youth around the country, and to inspire international Slow Food leaders to bring these models for youth engagement back to their home countries, Slow Food USA and Slow Food International are sponsoring a delegation of Youth Food Movement representatives to attend the Slow Food Leaders Congress in Mexico this coming week. These young leaders and activist delegates will present their work at the Congress, and will work with Italy’s University of Gastronomic Sciences delegation to plan for increased visibility and viability of the next generation at Slow Food events around the world.
The Challenge: Many youth now coming of age have only known a food system where homogenized, tasteless, packaged goods dominate the marketplace; where food is dangerous to ingest due to pesticides, chemicals and radiation; and where producers are not given the respect or wages that they deserve for their knowledge and their work.
Fortunately, many of these youth realize that a better system is attainable and are working with contemporary and traditional models to attain food justice for all.
Slow Food USA works to assist these young farmers, chefs, students, and activists in their quest for good, clean, and fair food for all. By facilitating access to knowledge and networks, and by creating opportunities for interaction with one another and with mentors, Slow Food USA is galvanizing and unifying this movement. Regional conferences, national events, and international platforms such as the Leaders Congress in Puebla, provide space for dialogue and action.
The 2007 Slow Food International Leader’s Conference Youth Delegates are:
Mikey Azzara, Outreach Director for NOFA-NJ and Farmer ( www.nofanj.org)
Laura Hess, Program Coordinator for Yale Sustainable Food Project, ( www.yale.edu/sustainablefood)
Alyssa Jumars , Oregon Farmer, Recent Middlebury Graduate
Siv Lie, BU Student, Slow Food on Campus Leader and Pastry Chef
David Schwartz, Brown University Student
Anim Steel, Director of National Programs for The Food Project, ( www.thefoodproject.org)
ABOUT SLOW FOOD: Slow Food (www.slowfood.com) was founded in 1986 by Carlo Petrini as a response to the opening of a McDonald’s in the Piazza di Spagna in Rome. Today the movement exists in over 50 countries and has over 80,000 members and supporters. Slow Food USA (www.slowfoodusa.org) has 15,000 members and oversees a
number of programs including Slow Food in Schools, the Ark of Taste, and Slow Food Presidia.
??knowing where food comes from can change the way you relate to the world, to your friends and to yourself. And it can also result in a mighty good muffin.?
? The New York Times
