Slow Food Upstate

A local chapter of Slow Food USA in the Upstate of South Carolina

Slow Food in Schools National Program and in the Upstate

Connecting young people with their food is the most important step we can take to ensure a future full of good, clean, and fair food. Slow Food nurtures this future through our Slow Food in Schools program. Working with our chapters across the country, our Garden to Table projects provide meaningful, hands-on food experiences and education to K-12 students.

Slow Food in Schools supports our local projects in creating meaningful relationships between youth and food. By placing emphasis on hands-on experiences, community interaction, and the pleasures of the table, Slow Food in Schools helps to strengthen the food communities of tomorrow by engaging youth today.

Slow Food USA offers project support through our annual Micro-Grant Awards, the Slow Food in Schools Project Leader's Conference, kitchen and garden tools supplied by OXO, and individual technical and professional support for leaders.

 

How to Start a Slow Food in Schools Project

Slow Food USA has developed general guidelines for establishing Slow Food in Schools projects. This downloadable document provides a step-by-step guide to starting a project in your community as well as information on types of projects, model Slow Food in Schools projects, funding guidelines, and numerous informational resources.

Download the Slow Food How to Start a Schools Project here.

Slow Food on Campus

Slow Food on Campus is a network of Slow Food chapters at colleges and universities across the country. Run by student members, Slow Food on Campus chapters engage their community and the next generation of Slow Food leaders in creating a good, clean, and fair food system.

To keep up with Slow Food on Campus, opportunities for students, interesting articles, and Slow Food on Campus chapters across the country, check out the Slow Food on Campus blog at http://slowfoodoncampus.wordpress.com/. If you've got news from your area you would like to see posted on the blog, please contact Julia Middleton, Slow Food Youth Programs Assistant at julia@slowfoodusa.org.

If you are a student interested in starting a Slow Food chapter at your school, please download the guidelines and email youth@slowfoodusa.org to get started.

Resources for Teachers, School Administrators, School Food Advocates, Parents and Students

Slow Food USA Resources for Teachers

Excellent source of resources including cooking, gardening, community, and farm to school for children in the classroom and beyond.

USDA Agriculture in the Classsroom

The Agriculture in the Classroom National Resource Directory is an online searchable database that lists hundreds of educational resources designed to help educators locate high quality classroom materials and information to increase agricultural literacy among their Pre-K through 12th grade students.

The Lunch Box

This is a toolbox for transforming your school lunchroom! Loaded with practical resources to make it easier for you to make great, wholesome food to keep our kids fueled for learning and living.

Healthy Schools, Healthy Youth

 

Furman University Organic Garden

The Furman Organic Garden is a student managed campus garden and market that provides the Furman and larger community with an environment in which students, faculty, and staff can study, research, and practice small-scale food production. The garden will strengthen physical, mental, and spiritual connections to the land through the practice of sustainable, organic agriculture.   Furman participates in the National Farm to School Program. These programs connect schools with local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing health and nutrition education opportunities that will last a lifetime, and supporting local small farmers.


3300 Poinsett Hwy
Greenville, SC 29613
James Wilkins

sustainability@furman.edu
864-294-2076

The Child Nutrition Bill

 
The progress we've made on the Child Nutrition Bill is in jeopardy.
Why? Senate leaders are thinking about postponing the bill for another year or two. Instead of new funding for healthier food, stronger nutrition standards, and grants for Farm to School programs -- which are all in the current bill -- schools could end up with the same-old system next year.
A "Dear Colleague" letter is circulating in the Senate, urging Senate leaders to schedule time for the bill. The letter will be submitted to the leadership on Wednesday, May 19 -- so our Senators need to sign it ASAP.
Can you ask your Senators to sign the letter today? Click here to send an email:
Over the last year, hundreds of thousands of people like you have spoken up for helping schools serve healthier food. The result is a Child Nutrition Bill with the most new funding and strongest standards in the sixty-year history of the National School Lunch Program.
It's still not perfect, but we need to get the legislation moving -- otherwise we risk starting over next year with zero funding, no standards and no grants for local food. Our goal right now is to show the Senate leadership that child nutrition is a priority, and that Senators want to address it -- that's the reasoning behind the "Dear Colleague" Letter.
When this bill reaches the Senate floor, we're hoping Congress will improve it by increasing the funding for healthy food to at least $1 billion per year. But we can't get there unless Congress makes child nutrition a priority.
 
For more information: www.slowfoodusa.org/timeforlunch

 

Upcoming Events

Friday, Aug 27 at 7:00 am
Friday, Aug 27 at 4:00 pm
Saturday, Aug 28 at 6:00 am
Saturday, Aug 28 at 6:00 am

News

We are all frustrated and horrified by the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In the last FOOD CHAIN, Slow Food USA  offered a few avenues for giving support both financial and otherwise. 

•Donate: Oxfam, Gulf Aid, Gulf Coast Fund and the Gulf Restoration Network

•Volunteer: Sierra Club is hosting clean-ups

 

Upstate Locally Grown

www.upstatesc.locallygrown.net

Need a volunteer support staff; people to pack and transport the orders to different drop-off sites.

 

Slow Food Upstate is featured on One Cause, a web site that allows you to shop on line and your selected merchants will contribute a percentage of the sale to Slow Food Upstate.  Go to www.onecause.com and become a member, then select Slow Food Upstate as your Cause to support.  Add the One Cause browser tab to your computer and select your merchants through the One Cause web site.  One Cause will then send Slow Food Upstate the contributions.  You must however, access the merchant through the One Cause web site to participate.

 

These contributions will help further the Slow Food Upstate missions in our area.

 

The South Carolina General Assembly will be voting on a bill that would create the ability for farms to have signs posted.  This would aid farmers in SC very much, so please voice your opinion to your State Representative.

More information:

 http://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess118_2009-2010/prever/4904_20100428.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Launch of Edible Upcountry Magazine

 

Published quarterly with the seasons, edible Upcountry focuses on local, sustainable food sources and the people who work the land to bring this bounty to our tables in the Upstate region of South Carolina.

With beautiful photography and thoughtful content, the magazine and website will help us to savor and appreciate our region's food culture. An indispensable guide for people who are passionate about food, edible Upcountry will be a feast for the eyes, the intellect and the palate.

Board Members

Jennifer Sparks, Convivium Leader 

Janette Wesley, Convivium Secretary

Ann Marshall, Convivium Treasurer

Debbie Cooke

Tom and Linda Trantham

Marnie Record

Renato Vicario

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