Category: events

Date: Wednesday, October 10th, 2012, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: Palm Square Community Center, 100 N Interstate 35, #1000, Austin, TX 78701, Suite 1000
(The entrance to this conference room can be accessed from the north side of the building; however, all attendees will need to check in at the security desk which is located at the main entrance of the building facing IH-35.)
RSVP: Limited seating available!  Please email Chelsea Staires at chelsea@slowfoodaustin.org

Did you know that the City of Austin, just a few years ago, commissioned an entire Sustainable Food Policy Board to advise City Council?  When I learned this, my immediate thoughts and questions were, “Wow, that’s awesome!! What do they do?  What are their top agenda items?  How can I help??”

The City’s website states: “[The Sustainable Food Policy Board is an] advisory body to the City Council and Travis County Commissioners’ Court concerning the need to improve the availability of safe, nutritious, locally, and sustainably-grown food at reasonable prices for all residents, particularly those in need, by coordinating the relevant activities of city government, as well as non-profit organizations, and food and farming businesses.”

Luckily for us, a few key members of the (all volunteer) panel are giving their time to talk with us about their work with the SFPB and give us the scoop, including current Board Chair, Paula McDermott.  At this Slow Session, we’ll talk about:

• The SFPB commission formation
• The SFPB mission
• SFPB Operations, month to month happenings, roles of board members
• Biggest challenges for the SFPB in completing goals
• Top goals for 2012/2013
• Strategic future plans for the SFPB
• How we can support/volunteer for/advocate for the SFPB and help the City of Austin improve our food quality and sustainability

Slow Food Austin will provide appetizers and refreshments for the meeting.

More about the Sustainable Food Policy Board: http://www.austintexas.gov/sfpb

Check out these links to learn more before the Slow Session!

§ 2-1-170  SUSTAINABLE FOOD POLICY BOARD
SFPB 2011 Report
SFPB Meeting Agendas

Date: Wednesday, September 19 2012, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: in.gredients packaging free grocery store, 2610 Manor Road Austin, TX 78722
RSVP: Please email Chelsea Staires at chelsea@slowfoodaustin.org

Austin’s new in.gredients is the country’s first packaging-free grocery store.  Come learn about what low to no waste grocery shopping is and talk with us and the in.gredients staff about:

• The in.gredients philosophy
• How container-free grocery works
• The in.gredients’ team’s approach to sourcing products from the local community
• How to reduce waste while shopping and in the kitchen by being package-free

Enjoy the in.gredients grounds, gardens, and delicious beers on tap and tour the store to become familiar with package-free grocery shopping.

More About in.gredients:

Over 700,000 tons of garbage is placed in American landfills on a daily basis. Packaging makes up nearly 40 percent of that. Packaging waste is a big deal – especially when we’re consuming energy to produce, consume, and recycle things that aren’t always necessary. The way we do things now is damaging the environment at our own cost. That’s why we’re taking ourselves out of that loop altogether.

Our mission is to minimize waste and promote healthy, sustainable lifestyles by selling local food with pure ingredients, package-free. Our ethos are the core values we consider when making any decision about our store operations. Package-free and zero-waste are new frontiers in the grocery industry, so we’re pioneers in relatively uncharted territory. Because of this our ethos can’t be fully reflected by our business model, since local regulations, consumer demand, public perception, and the norms of the food industry are not aligned in pursuit of a common goal or always interested in sustainability. Nothing in.gredients does as a store, therefore, can be the perfect sustainable shopping option in your area – but we want to be the absolutely best option.

Date: Wednesday, August 15, 2012, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: The RGK Center at the LBJ Library on the UT campus (parking info provided with RSVP)
RSVP: Please email Chelsea Staires at chelsea@slowfoodaustin.org

Americans’ right to access fresh, healthy foods of their choice is under attack. Farmageddon tells the story of small, family farms that were providing safe, healthy foods to their communities and were forced to stop, sometimes through violent action, by agents of misguided government bureaucracies, and seeks to figure out why.

Join us in the refreshing air conditioning of the RGK center at UT’s LBJ Library to see one of the most important films highlighting the challenges facing America’s small farmers today, especially those producing raw milk.  Following the screening of FARMAGEDDON at this Slow Session, we’ll have an opportunity to discuss comments, concerns, ideas, and inspirations from the film.

More About FARMAGEDDON:
Filmmaker Kristin Canty’s quest to find healthy food for her four children turned into an educational journey to discover why access to these foods was being threatened. What she found were policies that favor agribusiness and factory farms over small family-operated farms selling fresh foods to their communities. Instead of focusing on the source of food safety problems — most often the industrial food chain — policymakers and regulators implement and enforce solutions that target and often drive out of business small farms that have proven themselves more than capable of producing safe, healthy food, but buckle under the crushing weight of government regulations and excessive enforcement actions.

Farmageddon highlights the urgency of food freedom, encouraging farmers and consumers alike to take action to preserve individuals’ rights to access food of their choice and farmers’ rights to produce these foods safely and free from unreasonably burdensome regulations. The film serves to put policymakers and regulators on notice that there is a growing movement of people aware that their freedom to choose the foods they want is in danger, a movement that is taking action with its dollars and its voting power to protect and preserve the dwindling number of family farms that are struggling to survive.

Date: Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: Savory Spice Shop, 1201B West 6th Street, Austin, Texas 78703 (Free parking behind the building)
RSVP: Please email Melissa Borrell at melissa@slowfoodaustin.org

Spice up your summer with some tasty curries from around the world!  Come visit Savory Spice Shop on 6th Street and learn about spices from owner Karen Aboussie.  We will sample some amazing summer bites seasoned with spices from the shop and learn about how and where the spices grow as well as the history and cultural impact of spices from around the world.  This Slow Session will include:

Karen Aboussie has had a livelong passion for the amazing abilities of spices to transform a dish.  With a background in marketing, she left her corporate job to pursue her love and open up Savory Spice Shop.  She has traveled all around the world and visited plantations seeing firsthand where spices come from.