We are using this event as a starting point for a larger conversation about food in our community, and are going to be hosting and facilitating a series of meetings beginning on Feb 28. We expect this to be a day that we all look back on and say, “That was the day we started to change our food system for the better.” viewing party invite[1]

WATCH THE EVENT LIVE FROM NEW YORK CITY SATURDAY, FEB 12 2011

HOST: The South Side Innovation Center
ADDRESS: 2610 South Salina Street Syracuse, NY
TIME: Breakfast and registration begins at 9:30
Webcast begins at 10:30
Webcast ends at 6:00
You are encouraged to stay and continue the conversation

You are cordially invited to join with other food system professionals from Central New York for the official Syracuse TEDxManhattan viewing party. We hope to use this event as a way to open dialogue on the issues facing our food system and how we can work collectively to overcome them.

The event, including lunch, snacks, beverages, and coffee, is free. This is a rare opportunity to take part in a global event the connects our work in Central New York with what is happening across the country. Seating is very limited, so please RSVP to Crystal Ross at 315.443.8466 or crross@syr.edu. Please specify meal preferences as meat or vegan, and if you have other dietary needs.

Two events coming up on October 16 & 17:

October 16th: Syracuse Grows Workshop
“Food Deserts and Food Security in Urban Communities”

• Location: The Atrium Building, 2 Clinton Square, Syracuse, NY
• Time: 12:00 – 2:30 pm
• Description: Anan Xola Lololi, food justice advocate and urban agriculture pioneer, will be visiting Syracuse to speak on Food Deserts, as well as give an informal workshop on Community Gardening Administration. The event will be brown bag lunch and will have a suggested donation of $5. Please join Syracuse Grows on World Food Day <http://www.worldfooddayusa.org/>  in a discussion of these important issues.

October 17th: Syracuse Grows-CSA CNY-Slow Food CNY
Fall Harvest Potluck Dinner

• Location: The Assumption Church Parish Center, 800 N Salina St, Syracuse, NY
  (enter by the green doors on Catawba Street)
• Time: 4:00 – 6:00 pm
• Description: Bring a dish to share and celebrate the harvest with us.  Keynote presentation by Anan Xola Lololi and updates from our organizations.  Snail awards, too.  All welcome.

Good news – Slow Food USA’s 30-day membership drive starts today, September 15, 2010!  You can join for the first time or renew your membership to Slow Food for $25.00, less than half the original $60.00 rate.   Where does your money go?  The money from membership revenue will go to leadership trainings, regional and national in-person gatherings, and new tools and resources for local leaders, like the “Grassroots Fund” for local projects.  A portion supports international programs, too.

Sign up online or download and mail this SFUSAMembershipOnePager to join a community of 200,000 people to make food good, clean, and fair and let’s keep building momentum for change.   And tell us what you think – we’ll share your feedback on this membership drive with the Slow Food USA national office.

Slow Food CNY encourages community members to participate in Women Transcending Boundaries’ Acts of Kindness Weekend, this Saturday and Sunday, September 11th and 12th.

Paint a community room or plant trees.  Repair children’s bikes or  create an art project.  Better yourself through  free legal advice or a free health screening.  All that and more will be happening as hundreds of volunteers will span out across Central New York for  Acts of Kindness (A-OK!) Weekend.

In addition to the volunteer projects, you can join your neighbors at one of seven Hubs set up across the city.  They will have a continuing schedule of events including children’s performances, arts and crafts, and music.  You will find laughter, community and lots of high energy!

This amazing weekend of simultaneous volunteer and caring events across metro Syracuse is a way to honor those who died on 9/11 by giving back to our community and working side by side with diverse people. It’s coordinated by Women Transcending Boundaries (WTB), a non-profit corporation formed after 9/11 to bring together women of various faiths and cultures.

So  put yourself to work by volunteering at one of the many projects listed on our A-OK! page.  Help them plan for your participation by emailing aokvolunteer@syracusenewtimes.com.  More details can be found at www.wtb.org.

Also, a special thank you to David Katelski and Empire Brewing Company, whose enthusiasm for and hard work on this event is sure to make it a success.  We’re all so excited and can’t wait until Sunday!

One month from tonight! Experience Slow Food, Slow Brew on Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 6pm at Empire Brewing Company, 120 Walton Street, Armory Square, downtown Syracuse (315-475-2337).  Enjoy local food, beer, and wine, support local business, and fund the Slow Food CNY chapter – all at the same time!

Tickets are $55 per person for 8 courses of food/beer/wine pairing.  Tickets are available at Empire Brewing Company.  Slow Food CNY sincerely appreciates Empire’s support of our local chapter!  Download the menu and the gorgeous new flyer.

On Sunday, October 18th, join your friends and neighbors of the region as we come together to celebrate the fall harvest!

The potluck will take place from 3PM to 6PM at the Assisi Center on 800 N. Salina Street.  The door to the potluck is found around the corner on Catawba St (Map below).

This year, both Syracuse Grows and Slow Food CNY are partnering to make this potluck even better.  In addition to the meaningful home-cooked foods, there will be:

• Presentations about our collective successes during this past year.
• Information tables about how you can get involved!
• Unveiling of the second Snail of Approval Awards!

So bring your plate and utensils and a dish to pass.  And don’t forget your appetite!

To RSVP, let us know in the comment section below! Or, if you are on facebook, you can RSVP here.

View Larger Map

Board Members Wanted!

The Slow Food Central New York Chapter has two open board positions! The responsibilities for being on the board are fluid and decided via consensus of the board members.  Board meetings only occur once a month and are always a potluck (our next meeting is a brunch!).  However, we do expect frequent email communication from all board members.  Please contact us through this contact form if you are interested!

Bloggers Wanted!

Secondly, we are looking for individuals to blog.  If you have a passion about food and passionate about sharing your thoughts, please comment below or contact us through this contact form.  Posting frequency is set by your own enthusiasm, though we do hope for at least one post a month.  Please let us know if you are interested.

If that is not enough, an anonymous donor has agreed to double every donation until the October 15th deadline.  If you think slow food is important, put your money where your mouth is.  To donate right now, click on the image at right!

This fall, Congress will decide whether to update the Child Nutrition Act, a federal law that governs the National School Lunch Program.  This act comes up for reauthorization every four to five years and it determines what 30 million children eat at school every day.  For many children, school lunch is their only meal of the day.  Right now, these children are forced to choose between going hungry and being unhealthy.

On Labor Day, Sept. 7, 2009, tens of thousands of people in communities across the nation will sit down to share a meal with their neighbors. This National Eat-In will send a clear message to legislators: our country is coming together for a future where no child is denied his or her right to good health, and where every child enjoys real food in school.

Join Slow Food Central New York for a public potluck picnic! Share a meal and show support for getting real food in schools.

Elmwood Park pavilion, Syracuse
11:30am – 2:30pm

Bring a blanket, chair, your own plate and utensils, beverage, and a homemade dish to share.

Directions:
Elmwood Park is in the southwestern portion of Syracuse.  The park entrance is just west of the junction of South Avenue (Rt 175), Valley Drive (Rt 80), and Glenwood Avenue.  MAP

• From South Avenue or Valley Drive, go west on Glenwood and watch for the park entrance on your left.
• From the northwest:  Take Geddes Street to Glenwood Avenue.  Turn left on Glenwood, drive past Roberts Elementary, and continue east to the park entrance on your right, across the street from Craddock Street.
• From the east: Take either Colvin Street or Brighton Avenue to South Avenue.  Turn left and drive towards Glenwood Avenue.

The picnic pavilion is in the center of the park.  The park road leads to a small parking lot above the pavilion.  Alternatively, leave your car in the lot next to the old mill, near the park entrance.  Follow Furnace Brook upstream to the picnic pavilion, a 5-10 minute walk.

Please read information on potluck food safety.

Colorful brochure on potluck food safety.

More details:

In a time of escalating diabetes and obesity epidemics, our schools serve children precisely the fast food and junk food that endangers their health.

This year, Congress can give schools the resources to improve school lunch by increasing school lunch reimbursements by $1/child/day in this year’s Child Nutrition Act. The current reimbursement rate for a free lunch is $2.57, which must also pay for labor and equipment.  Schools are left with only $1.00 to spend on food.  It’s time to make a down payment on health care reform by raising the reimbursement rate to $3.57.

Tell US Congress you support reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act.