‘Slow Food & Social Justice’ Featured
Jan. 19 in Montevideo

CONTACT: Terry VanDerPol, LSP, 320-269-2105

1/9/09
MONTEVIDEO, Minn. —What do Slow Food, local economic development and social justice have in common? Find out on Monday, Jan. 19, beginning at 7 p.m., during a special Martin Luther King Jr. event at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 224 N. 4th Street in Montevideo. Refreshments will be provided. This event, which is co-sponsored by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP), United Church of Christ and Montevideo Area Peace Seekers, is open to the public and a free-will offering will be taken. For more information, contact Terry VanDerPol in LSP’s Montevideo office at 320-269-2105.

This event will feature Audrey Arner, Richard Handeen, Jim VanDerPol and LeeAnn VanDerPol, local farmers who served as delegates to the 2008 Terra Madre “Slow Food” conference in October. Terra Madre is held every two years in Turin, Italy. The 2008 Terra Madre featured over 7,000 farmers, fishers, shepherds, chefs, educators and students participating in four days of meetings, workshops and lectures that focused on increasing small-scale, traditional and sustainable food production.

“Slow Food” is a grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment. During the most recent Terra Madre, Slow Food founder Carl Petrini emphasized the importance of using the movement to make good, clean and fair food accessible to all people, including those living in poverty. Slow Food supports and is working towards the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which is focused on ending poverty.

“In light of Martin Luther King’s lifelong fight for social justice, it seems especially appropriate to be holding this event on his birthday,” said Terry VanDerPol, LSP’s Community Based Food and Economic Development Program Director.

The Jan. 19 event will feature a slide montage from Terra Madre, as well as a discussion about how Slow Food can help sustainability around the world while alleviating hunger and creating economic development opportunities in western Minnesota.

“Thanks to the efforts of Slow Food International, at Terra Madre we all connected issues of hunger, the preservation of small and medium farms, supporting young food producers, genetic integrity of crops and biological diversity with taste education, human health and the pleasures of the table,” said Arner.

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