Slow Food Madison connects the community and food

Slow Food Madison’s Annual Meeting held at the Goodman Community Center on Sunday, March 30 attracted a cheerful crowd of community members, Madison food vendors and UW-Madison students. A tasting of local vendor products included a beet salad made by Heritage Tavern, samosas from Dobhan Restaurant, and gravity drip artisan coffee from Kickapoo Coffee, just to name a few.

Matt Feifarek, Slow Food Madison’s director, addressed the big question: What does Slow Food do?

Slow Food Madison serves the community by providing educational programs.  As a service organization, its growth and development derive from building a strong network of individuals and sub-communities. Connecting all of these dots is what brings together the values of the organization, according to Feifarek. Connecting people, food stories, food cultures and traditions as well as sharing skills and offering volunteer time. 

Slow Food Madison’s ongoing projects include monthly happy hours, Fritz Food Pantry weekly Wednesday dinners, Urban Market Forage, the Sweet Potato Project and Food Camp. Slow Foodies from around the Madison community come together each month for a fun and lively happy hour. This is an opportunity to network, share recipes and cooking tips with local residents who are passionate about the entire food process. 

The Fritz Food Pantry project is a collaboration of Slow Food Madison volunteers, the Madison Caribbean Association and the Goodman Community Center. Every Wednesday, volunteers create an impromptu menu from ingredients and produce available from the shelves of the food pantry. They serve 20-30 guests of the food pantry a healthy, homemade and delicious meal.

One of these creative and nutritious menus includes a summer vegetable panzanella, apple and cabbage slaw, curried chickpea yogurt salad and daal. This community-based project brings people together to prepare and share food made with thought. Slow Food Madison is hoping to bring in more guests to share these meals with and is always seeking fresh volunteers to help out Wednesday nights. 

Urban Market Forage brings together a small group to visit local markets and shops, seeking to form connections with local shop owners and learn about different food cultures and traditions. 

Slow Food Madison’s Sweet Potato project began in 2013 as a partnership with UW Extension, Community Action Coalition, and Equinox Farms to help people grow sweet potatoes in their backyards for the purpose of donating them to local food pantries. 

“Why sweet potatoes?” Some Annual Meeting attendees asked. 

It is an approachable and nutritious vegetable that most people are familiar with.  Almost 1,000 pounds of sweet potatoes were harvested this past October at the Goodman Youth Grow Local Farm in Madison. 

Things to come for Slow Food Madison include two new educational initiatives: Slow Food 101 and teaching table workshops in collaboration with Madison Public Library and the Goodman Community Center. These programs intend to share knowledge and accessibility with a greater audience in the Madison community.

For more information about Slow Food Madison’s upcoming events and projects go to its website [1].

--The author is a member of Slow Food-UW Madison