Read about:

•  The upcoming National meeting in Edmonton
•  How Terra Madre Day was celebrated across Canada
•  The rise of the Slow Food Youth Movement in Calgary
•  Why it’s a challenge to find heritage poultry
•  Butchery trends predicted for 2012

… and a little bit more.

It’s all here: Slow Food Canada January Newsletter 

Eat in and a movie.
Eat, watch, listen, connect.

• February 17, 2012 @ 5 pm
• Eau Claire Market – 200 Barclay Parade SW, Calgary – in the “Community Room”
• Movie : “Food security: It’s in your hands”

Local food, local beer, local young people who share your passion for good, clean and fair food.

We are holding a public event on Saturday January 28th at the Ant Hill Building in Kensington. This event will showcase the many businesses, organizations and individuals who are working in, or connected to, the food system in the Calgary region. This will provide an incredible opportunity to connect with one another and share in the opportunities and actions that people are taking to build a more resilient and sustainable food system for our city. Oh, and we all get to eat some great food!

WHEN: Saturday January 28th from 10 am to 4 pm
WHERE: The Ant Hill Building in Kensington: 148-10th St. NW

GET INVOLVED. Follow these links for event details and to download a vendor application form:

POSTER Open House Jan 28th 2012
Vendor Application Form

About Us
The Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association’s mission statement is “to preserve and enhance a healthy and vibrant quality of life for the residents of Hillhurst-Sunnyside”.   This organization is founded on the principle that human beings can be more successful in their relationships and as productive members of society if they are engaged in citizenship-building, and have a strong sense of community where they live, work and play. As a community-centered organization we also believe fundamentally that all human beings have a right to certain basic needs, and we have a responsibility to support individuals in meeting those needs wherever possible. The services we provide to achieve this mission include (but not limited to), Outreach and Senior’s Supports Services, Hall rentals, Arts & Recreation programming and facilities, Farmer’s Market, Flea Market, Community Gardens,  Childcare and Advocacy for Community Planning, Vitalization and Heritage preservation.

About the Opportunity
The Farmer’s Market Coordinator is a contract part-time position requiring approximately 10 hrs/wk with potentially up to full-time hours during the Farmer’s Market Open Season.  The position’s primary function is to develop and direct HSCA’s seasonal outdoor Farmer’s Market in accordance with the market’s guiding principles and with a view of fostering a sense of community around food. Specific responsibilities include:

• Vendor and facility management (communications, bookings, set-up/take-down)
• Volunteer Management;
• Advertising and Marketing
• Licensing, Registrations and Reporting
• Program growth and development
• Grant writing

The HSCA is also currently exploring opportunities for expanding its role in addressing food security issues in the community, in particular for those residents who face the greatest barriers to accessing wholesome, locally grown food.  The HSCA Farmer’s Market Coordinator will be responsible for leading new initiatives as they emerge.

About You
You ideally have 2 years related experience as well as some post-secondary education in any one of the following areas: business, community development, non-profit or volunteer management, education or sustainable agriculture. As a strategic thinker, you are able to deliver on social, environmental and financial desired outcomes by employing your skills in program, people and issues management.  Your flexibility to work a fluctuating schedule, especially should HSCA expand its programming around addressing Food Security issues in the community, will enable you to grow this portfolio to become a permanent full-time responsibility. You are highly organized and a strong communicator, and you love to be surrounded by people like yourself who are passionate about community development and making a difference.

You do not want to miss out on this opportunity. If you agree, then please forward your resume and cover letter to Quentin at mydreamjobis@hillhurstsunnyside.org.

 We will continue to receive applications until the right person is found!

On Wednesday, March 21, 2012, Kingsland Farmers’ Market is hosting Joel Salatin’s workshop on how to make your small farm more ethical, profitable, and deeply integrated with your local community. This workshop is an important one for anyone involved in local food, sustainability or agriculture to attend. A second, shorter workshop will be offered the following day.

Joel Salatin is a third generation organic farmer and author whose family owns and operates Polyface Farm in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. The farm produces what Joel calls ‘salad bar beef’, ‘pigaerator pork’, pastured poultry and forage-based rabbits. The Polyface farm operated by the Salatin family direct markets to 4,000 families, 40 restaurants, and 10 retail outlets.

A prolific author, Salatin’s eight books to date include both how-to and big picture themes. The farm features prominently in Michael Pollan’s New York Times best-seller The Omnivore’s Dilemma and the award-winning documentary Food, Inc.

Tickets for these events go on sale January 14, 2012 and are available by calling 403-255-3276 or @:  www.kingslandfarmersmarket.com

On December 10^th, 2011, about 75 citizens came together at Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Centre in Calgary to celebrate Terra Madre Day by sharing fantastic food they had prepared using local ingredients, to engage in vital conversations about our local food system and to enjoy a glass or two of delicious local beer, provided by Brew Brothers. Slow Food Calgary partnered with Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association in hosting this great event. Proceeds from the sale of the great beer and donations made by those present amounted to $250.00, which was donated to the Calgary Food Bank in order to help them with their efforts at alleviating the food distress experienced by too many local families.

This being Canada in the winter, root vegetables abounded, and the conversations around the tables tried to get to the root of both the difficulties and the great and as of yet not fully realized potential of our local food system. Local meat- bison, beef, turkey, pork, chicken and goat were also well represented on the heavily laden tables, and the feeling of many of those present was that the meat of the matter, when it came to discussing food systems, was that the fostering of dynamic, positive relationships of producers and co-producers comprising the food system was the key to creating a resilient and healthy local food system.

A passionate presentation was given by Darl Hobsbawn, a graduate of the Culinary Arts program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology, introducing the nascent Slow Food Youth movement in Calgary and inviting all youths to join with him and others in building a vibrant and active youth contingent affiliated with Slow Food Calgary.

Participants were asked to engage in conversation springing from 10 questions about the local food system and to give us written feedback on these 10 questions. The ideas and inspirations offered in this feedback will be used to give both Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Association and Slow Food Calgary a better understanding of how their two organizations can better serve the community in helping to promote and build a better local food system.

The most frequently offered comment received by the organizers of the event was that there was need to have such events not only on an annual basis, but more often, perhaps even on a monthly basis, with the serious issues and questions pertaining to our local food system being discussed in a more focused and systematic fashion.

The Brew Brothers will be providing local beer at a nominal cost!

Register for the Terra Madre Day Potluck (event details found at this link).

Learn more about Terra Madre Day

What’s Pecha Kucha? [from Wikipedia: Pecha Kucha (Japanese for chit chat) events consist of around a dozen presentations, each presenter having 20 slides, each shown for 20 seconds on a timer. Thus, each presenter has just 6 minutes and 40 seconds to explain their ideas before the next takes the stage. Conceived as a venue through which young designers could meet, show their work, exchange ideas, and network, the format keeps presentations concise and fast-paced. ]

Slow Food Calgary President Kris Vester stepped up to the plate to speak for Slow Food.
He swung hard – and fast.

See video of Kris’ presentation - Slow Food, Pecha Kucha style!