One of Our Heroes: MFK Fisher

by Slow Food USA Intern, Cecilia Estreich

To open the recent panel discussion on MFK Fisher at the The New School, food historian Andrew F Smith noted that there are only two reactions to the renowned food writer’s work. First, there are the people who, after reading a sentence, devour everything the woman has ever written. Then, there are the ones who cannot make it through that same sentence no matter how doggedly they try. Since I finished my first MFK Fisher book, I have fallen devoutly, passionately (militantly?) into the former category. I would read a compilation of her grocery lists if only someone would publish it. 

Until listening to the panelists at the New School, though, it had never occurred to me how forcefully her attitude towards gastronomy reflects the Slow Food mentality. Fisher’s observations and musings on the things she ate are always one part poetry and one part practicality.

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Reverse Trick-or-Treating with Global Exchange

by Slow Food USA staffer Julia De Martini Day

What will you be eating this Halloween? Is your candy Good, Clean, and Fair?

Slow Food USA has partnered with Global Exchange to spread the word about where our chocolate comes from on Halloween night with Reverse Trick-or-Treating.  Last Halloween, thousands of children, students, parents and others gave Fair Trade chocolate BACK to the households who gave them candy while Trick-or-Treating.  This year, we hope to reach a quarter of a million households across the country in an effort to further awareness about where our food comes from and how it is produced. 

While Fair Trade does not address all hardships faced by farmers abroad, its goals are to provide a better price and support sustainable agricultural development. A good resource for reading more about Fair Trade is on the Fair Trade Federation website.

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