A Weekend for Foodies

Labor Day Weekend, San Francisco turned into the Woodstock equivalent for food lovers. And with the overwhleming presence of student supporters, Imprint had to be there.

Image Courtesy of Jordana Lynne Mosten 

 

"I want to start an on-campus food chapter," is anonymously written on a white tablecloth, along with 150 other pledges during a potluck dinner in San Francisco this past Labor Day Weekend.

The dinner was part of Slow Food Nation, a four-day event celebrating the progress of the Slow Food Movement in the U.S. More than 600,000 people were in attendance--a significant amount of which were students.

When Imprint spoke with Slow Food USA back in March, they were nothing but optimistic with the gaining support from campus slow food chapters. Students were taking initiative, and the press on the west and east coasts were spreading the word.  This event was the first concentrated display of its success--graciously hosted by the city of San Francisco.

"There was definitely a new energy this weekend," states Cecily Upton, Slow Food on Campus coordinator. "There was just such a presence of young, new energy on all the issues of slow food."

Hour after hour, the San Francisco city grounds were amassed with lectures (one led by Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma), taste-pavilions (where guests could sample local food for around $50), marketplaces, cooking stations, and info-booths (on composting and the like).

The greatest feat was building a Victory Garden on the grounds of the Civic Center. "The city really came through," states Upton. The project began in early July and ended just before the weekend kick-off. The construction included the work of volunteers, especially for the Community Planting Day on July 12^th. All food harvested was then donated to those in need-mostly through local foodbanks.

At night, the grounds regrouped for dinner at several locations. One of which was The Market Bar which housed a full-course, family-style dinner, highlighting the food of local farmers (who actually came out afterwards--along with the chefs--to talk with guests about what made their dinner slow-food-appropriate).