Why is it that we aspire to the local? Professor David Roochnik, Boston University, considers this question In Defense of the Local: Aristotelian Reflections on a Politics of Place: Since the “scientific revolution” of the 17th century, we find ourselves in a technological culture in which the finite and knowable, the local (and the Slow), is replaced by the infinite and unknowable, in a thoroughly de-humanized conception of the universe. Understanding this may help us better understand the nature of our political experience. Buying tomatoes at the farmers’ market is a gesture, a plea, a response to and a protest against a globalized culture, and a desire for place. Aristotle helps us understand that desire. He thereby helps us to understand ourselves. And we need this kind of self-knowledge in order to make a better claim for the priority of the local in our lives.
The Food Project in Boston, Growing Power in Milwaukee and Chicago, and Added Value in Brooklyn all engage young people in a wide range of food related activities that include restoring sites and soils, growing and harvesting food, cooking and selling produce, and giving food to those in need.
Since obesity alone threatens to overwhelm the healthcare system, The Full Yield delivers healthy food to the workplace, Nest Collective and Revolution Foodsdeliver nutritious meals to underserved schools while Safeway rewards employee’s improvements in health measures.
In 2006, Diane Imrie, Director of Nutrition Services, and the management team at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington, Vermont, signed the Healthy Food in Health Care pledge for fresh, local, sustainable food. Now they are nationally recognized leaders in the relationship of food to environmental, agricultural, and health issues. They have opened a new café with the goal of having the most sustainable menu in health care in the country, developed an educational component, incorporated sustainable construction practices, and received a federal grant to foster food partnerships in Vermont and across the U.S. Slow Money investment in partnerships such as these could increase the quality and quantity of local food services to health care facilities. Continue reading »
Dave Jackson, owner of Enterprise Farm, describes on his website the melancholy we who live in snowy climes all feel at the end of the Farmer’s Market season. Though Eliot Coleman is known for supplying his small town in Maine with a Four-Season Harvest, until recently the winter alternative in Boston was simply the supermarket. There are now alternatives that have been created in the space between the farmer and large wholesale distributors. These new relationships emerge from the shared values embraced by organic farming, reduced energy costs, and the relationships that follow. Continue reading »
Marcia Stepanek published the following article on November 10, 2009 on MSNBC’s website.
First there was slow food, then slow cities and slow design. Now there is Woody Tasch, the catalyst behind a new movement touting “slow money” — the name the former venture capitalist-turned-revolutionary gives to his philosophy that combines a passion for social enterprise with the benefits of locally grown food. Continue reading »
By Martin Ping, Executive Director, Hawthorne Valley Association
On Friday, October 23rd, students and teachers from Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School, farmers from Hawthorne Valley Biodynamic Farm, and visiting students from Brooklyn Automotive School created this social sculpture as part of the International Day for Climate Action. Throughout the weekend, people in 181 countries engaged in the most widespread day of environmental action in the planet’s history. At over 5200 events, people gathered to call for strong action and bold leadership on the climate crisis. Photos and video from mountaintops, ocean depths, major cities, and remote villages express the number 350 – communicating the desire of citizens globally to make 350 parts per million the upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Stories appeared in The New York Times and many other publications around the world.
Inspired by an email from Woody, Hawthorne Valley decided to morph 350 into the word SOIL, recognizing that sensitive land-use practice, especially in agriculture, is a significant factor in balancing the soil carbon sink, hopefully reversing recent trends of loss of carbon from soils.
Efforts are officially underway to build the Slow Money – Southern California Regional Network. Gordon Smith, Slow Food Governor of Southern California, and Janie Hoffman, organic food and beverage entrepreneur of Bonsall, CA, kicked things off yesterday at Seabreeze Organic Farm in San Diego. A call is now being made for all inspired souls in Southern California to support these efforts. Bring your strengths and talents to the table and help Slow Money build a new economy from the ground up. Now is the time! Let’s be the change we want to see in the world! The next gathering will be held in Los Angeles. All folks interested in participating and creating dynamic change, contact Gordon at gordonstravels@sbcglobal.net.
Cape Ann Fresh Catch is the first CSF in Massachusetts and Clare Leschin-Hoar uncovers the complexities of thoughtful fish consumption in 
The Food Project
6, Diane Imrie, Director of Nutrition Services, and the management team at 