Slow Food Boston

Announcing our Worker Justice=Food Justice Panelists!

11/9/2019

SFB is thrilled to announce the panelists for our 2nd Slow Food Conversation: "Worker Justice = Food Justice" happening on November 19th at Bow Market!

Come join us for a lively discussion with our speakers Lucas Turner-Owens of the Boston Ujima Project, a capacity-building initiative to bring Greater Boston area business owners, investors, and workers together in creating a community-controlled economy and Yamila Ruiz, High Road Director of RAISE, the High Road Employer Association at Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United, which advocates for sustainable business models that champion living wages, basic benefits, and fair promotion policies. This thought-provoking conversation will be moderated by Mei Mei Street Kitchen and Mei Mei Restaurant's very own, Chef, Operating Manager and Co-Founder, Irene Li. We can't wait to hear about the many exciting projects these champions of fair restaurant wages are embarking on, see you on the 19th!

Moderator

Irene Li, Mei Mei Street Kitchen & Mei Mei Restaurant

Irene Li, Chef and Operating Manager, Mei Mei Street Kitchen and Mei Mei Restaurant
Irene operates Mei Mei Street Kitchen & Mei Mei Restaurant in Boston, where her work centers around ethical sourcing and fair employment practices. Her businesses merge modern techniques and multicultural cuisine with local foods and sustainable business practices. Mei Meiʼs creative, farm-driven, Chinese American food has been featured in Food & Wine, The New York Times, People, Bon Appetit and more. Ireneʼs life experiences range from organic farming to prison education and many things in between, and while she never expected a life in the restaurant industry, her desire to create change and care for those around her remains constant. At Mei Mei, Irene directs a groundbreaking open book management training program in conjunction with Rethink Restaurants. Sheʼs working to provide the entire team, from dishwashers to sous chefs, with valuable financial know-how and business management skills, and an opportunity for profit-sharing. She is an Eater Young Gun winner, Zagat and Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree, and a five-time James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef semi-finalist.

Panelists

Yamila Ruiz, Director of RAISE, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

Yamila Ruiz, RAISE Director, High Road Employer Association at ROC United
As Director of RAISE, the High Road Employer Association at ROC United, Yamila helps support restaurant owners who are part of ROC United’s national employer network to advocate for sustainable business models that champion living wages, basic benefits, fair promotion policies, among other "high road" employer practices as recipes for success. Convened by Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United), the leading restaurant workers' rights advocacy organization in the country, RAISE is changing the conversation about wages and labor practices for one of the largest and fastest-growing economic sectors in the country. Prior to joining ROC United, Yamila has worked in various sectors of the restaurant industry throughout her career. Until last year, Yamila was the Legal Organizer for ROC United, leading the Sanctuary Restaurants project to create safer spaces for all within the restaurant industry. She also provided legal support to ROC chapters nationwide to better assist restaurant workers and employers working towards increasing equity in the industry. Prior to that, she served as the Research & Policy Organizer at the Restaurant Opportunities Center of Boston working on the One Fair Wage campaign to eliminate the subminimum wage for all tipped workers in Massachusetts.

Lucas Turner-Owens, Fund Manager, Boston Ujima Project

Lucas Turner-Owens, Fund Manager, Boston Ujima Project
The Boston Ujima Project is working to organize Greater Boston area neighbors, workers, business owners, and investors to create a community-controlled economy. Ujima is led by the Center for Economic Democracy (CED), a “movement strategy and capacity building organization” which convenes local stakeholders to collaborate toward social, political, and economic transformation. Lucas provides Technical Assistance to entrepreneurs, connects them with business support organizations, gives financial education to Ujima's investor base, does loan packaging, underwriting, and manages Ujima's portfolio of investments. Prior to joining the Ujima Project, Lucas worked as an economic policy analyst for Operation HOPE, a nonprofit focused on consumer financial education. Lucas has also provided technical assistance and expansion loans from a network of impact investors to grow social enterprises and worker-owned co-operatives at Cooperation DC. As a Senior Analyst at Next Street Financial, Lucas applied his background in small business development and public policy to support clients making impact investments and strategic growth decisions.

Slow Food Conversation: Worker Justice=Food Justice!

10/28/2019

Did you know?

Restaurant workers are more likely to require food stamps, live in poverty and are 70% made up of women than employees in other industries. Current federal laws allow employers to pay as little as $2.13 in the restaurant industry for tipped employees instead of minimum wage ($15). With lenient labor laws and wealthy lobbyists keeping restaurant wages low, how can we expect workers in the food and beverage industry to earn a decent living?

Slow Food Boston fully believes in wage equity, that food industry staff should be fairly compensated by their employers, and that national policies should reflect these basic human rights. That is why we are excited to host our second Slow Food Conversation on "Worker Justice = Food Justice." Join us for a lively conversation to hear about local initiatives to pay food service workers and suppliers a fair wage/price and provide benefits to employees. We'll also get insights and hear first-hand about the challenges faced by restaurant owners to account for dozens of overhead costs that are often obscured from diners. Guest speakers will also discuss tipped employee minimum wage, open book management, worker owned co-ops, and the fight for $15. Please join us and take part in a thoughtful discussion about how the Slow Food community can work collectively to develop a more equitable food system that can afford to pay a living wage.

Enjoy complimentary appetizers provided by Mei Mei and grab a beer in tune with the seasons from our hosts Remnant Brewery. Additional food will be available for purchase. More details about participants to come.

Tour de Farms Concord is Almost Here!

8/28/2019

Less than two weeks away from our 7th annual Tour de Farms with a few remaining tickets left! Join Slow Food Boston on an agricultural excursion as we cycle across the Concord countryside, stop at four unique farms, and get an exclusive look behind the scenes of what's being grown and harvested this season!

Enjoy a delicious, locally prepared lunch provided on the tour, then close out the summer at this one time a year event with a lovely farm-to-table dinner with one of our favorite growers, Wright-Locke Farm, to savor unique dishes made from seasonal ingredients. Registration for the tour and Farm-to-Table Supper can be found here. See you there!

In Season Harvest Fair Summer Social After party!

8/20/2019

Hey Slow Foodians!

Our friends at In Season and Sustainable Business Network are celebrating the end of summer with the first ever In Season Harvest Fair at Bow Market in Somerville this Sunday, August 25th. This is a great opportunity to not only discover new local products, you'll also get to meet the makers behind them! Check out demos from some of our favorite local growers and producers and stop in for some lunch made of sustainable, locally grown/made ingredients.

Shortly after, to celebrate this inaugural event, Slow Food Boston is excited to host an after party reception and give toast to the local vendors, Bow Market business owners, and organizers of the Harvest Fair.... and you're invited! Come mix and mingle with us over some bubbly at this afternoon social and learn about upcoming events in store at Slow Food. Register here!

7th Annual Slow Food Tour de Farms

7/30/2019

On Sunday, September 8th, come ride with Slow Food Boston to explore Concord's broad array of local farms and meet your local food producers on our 7th annual Tour de Farms! Enjoy a scenic, autumn bike ride across Concord's vibrant agricultural landscape as we tour local farms in the area and discover what's being grown and harvested in the charming countryside of this historic town. Learn about the region's unique cultural and historical heritage and the regenerative practices of our local food growers that help sustain the health of our environment and local communities. Take a break to savor an afternoon lunch featuring local ingredients while getting to know your fellow riders and Slow Food members. Then, after completing a 20-mile ride, complete your evening with a lovely Farm-to-Table Supper at Wright-Locke Farm featuring a fall harvest menu while mixing and mingling with fellow dinner guests.

Tickets for the ride are $60 with fees per person. The Farm to Table Supper is $60 with fees and is open to everyone, riders and non-riders alike. Rain date is scheduled for Sunday, September 22nd. Tickets are limited.

Community Servings Kitchen Volunteer Night + Slow Food Spring Social!

5/5/2019

Hey SFBers,

Come join Slow Food Boston on Thursday, May 9th for a fun night of meal prepping for a good cause! We'll be dishing up some delectable, nutritious eats made from scratch for the beneficiaries of Community Servings, a local non-profit that prepares and delivers meals for our homebound and chronically ill friends throughout the greater Boston area. Mix and mingle with other fellow SFBers in the area while fine-tuning your chopping skills. Then, come reward yourself after all that hard work with a nice, cold one at Turtle Swamp Brewing, Jamaica Plain's beloved local brewery, at our Slow Food Spring Social to follow. Pair your beverage with some freshly grilled sausages from local butcher pop-up, Meadowlark Butcher, who pride themselves in using only pasture-raised, 100% grass-fed meats.

Find details and register here. This one's definitely not to be missed! See you there!

WDSD Week Three: Interview with the Boston Area Gleaners!

4/24/2019

For part 3 of our ongoing World Disco Soup Day interview series, we chatted with Jack Leng, Education and Outreach Coordinator of the Boston Area Gleaners!

About Jack
Originally from Maryland, Jack earned an MS in Environmental Education from Antioch University New England. Prior to that, Jack taught physical education in Virginia, and saw firsthand how important it is for young people to learn how to live an active life, and how good nutrition and access to healthy food can dramatically affect kids' resiliency.

Jack has worked with Mill City Grows, Three Sisters Garden Project, CitySprouts and Waltham Fields Community Farm. He has a deep love and appreciation for the natural world, and believes everyone should get to enjoy its bountiful fruit.

Jack joined the Gleaners in 2016 and was astonished at the amount of good, nutritious food going to waste on local farms. He's committed to reducing food waste and increasing access to fresh local food for more vulnerable populations. Thanks to his enthusiasm, Jack inspires folks to volunteer with us and spearheads our corporate and community group service days. If you're looking for a speaker or to plan a group volunteer trip, Jack's the guy to call.

What is gleaning?
The Gleaners’ define it as the act of collecting surplus crops from farmers' fields. In ancient times, landowners invited peasants onto their fields after the main harvest to take what was left over. Simply put, gleaning was a method of improving food security for the poor.

...And there’s a big need for this, even today! Farming is unpredictable, and farmers need to plant extra to ensure they will have enough produce to sell throughout the year. With an unpredictable market, this can result in surplus food: in fact, up to 20% of the food grown on farms is never harvested. This food could be donated, but many farmers simply cannot afford the labor to harvest and distribute it.

In come the Boston Area Gleaners, whom since 2004 have organized volunteers to harvest surplus crops from local farms and distribute these high-quality, nutritious fruits and vegetables to food banks, pantries, and meal programs.

By the numbers

In 2017, they gleaned over 635,000 pounds of 60 crop types from 50 farms in eastern Massachusetts
Since their start in 2004, they have gleaned over 1.8 million pounds of fresh, local produce for the benefit of people in need.
By 2019, they hope to capture 1 million pounds of crops every single year.

Slow Food Boston is excited to include the Gleaners in this series as they offer a unique, agricultural-based perspective in the Boston Area food rescue scene. Click HERE to read the interview and learn more about how the Gleaners are providing a necessary service in our local community.

Join us at the Boston Public Market on April 28th to celebrate World Disco Soup Day, an anti-food waste campaign, and to meet Jack and other key members in local food rescue!

WDSD Week Two: Interview with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine!

4/14/2019

We’re excited to post part two of our ongoing interviews with Boston’s voices in food rescue in our World Disco Soup Day campaign! This week we’re featuring Rescuing Leftover Cuisine's New England Coordinator, Dana Siles. Dana co-runs RLCMA with Lauren Basler, Massachusetts Branch Head.

About Dana
Like what last week’s discussion revealed with Lauren from Lovin’ Spoonfuls, Dana’s similar experience in the hospitality industry exposed her to the widespread issue of food waste. She joined the RLC team in order to help make food donation a Best Practice for all commercial kitchens and professional chefs who experience food waste.

Lauren has hated seeing food go to waste ever since she was little, thanks to her grandmother’s influence and hearing about all those that go hungry. She is working on a dual Master’s in Food Policy and International Business with a focus on social impact. Lauren has learned that the negative environmental effects from food waste in landfills is almost as disturbing as global hunger.

About Rescuing Leftover Cuisine
RLC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides a volunteer platform to recover excess fresh and prepared food from businesses and bring it to nearby non-profits who freely give this food to those in need. RLC fulfills a unique need in Boston’s food community by relying on volunteers to rescue food not only throughout the day, but also on nights and weekends with “emergency pickups.”

Thanks to the collaboration of their food donor partners, volunteers, and recipients, in 2018:

102,796 pounds of recovered excess food provided about 82,236 meals for those in need throughout MA
And prevented about 38,548 pounds of CO2 emissions from entering the atmosphere

Read on to find out what makes RLC an important contributor to Boston’s food rescue scene, and join us on the 28th to chat with them and other inspiring organizations fighting food waste!

Interested in getting involved with RLC? With just 30-60 minutes of your day, the average volunteer opportunity rescues 50 pounds of food and feeds 40 people! Click here to fill out their volunteer form.

SFB Interviews Local Food Rescue Organizations for WDSD!

4/10/2019

All April long, Slow Food Boston is highlighting our city’s efforts to fight food waste. As a part of the global Slow Food World Disco Soup Day campaign, we’ve chosen to focus specifically on the food rescue organizations in Boston working together to tackle this complex problem.

We’re excited to kick off part one of this series with an exclusive dialogue with Lauren Palumbo, COO of Lovin’ Spoonfuls!

About Lauren
Lauren was born, raised, and educated in the Boston area. Coming from a background in the hospitality and non-profit sectors, she has a unique perspective of the inputs and outputs of food system operations. In 2015, Lauren was recognized as an ‘Emerging Leader’ by Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders program, and in 2016, Lauren was selected as one of the Boston Business Journal’s ’40 under 40′, which recognizes Boston’s young business leaders. She plays a vital role on the Lovin’ Spoonfuls team in ensuring timely delivery of nutritious food to recipients across the Greater Boston Area, continuing to lead conversations on the importance of reducing food waste and ensuring access to healthy food for all.

What does Lovin’ Spoonfuls Do?
Lovin’ Spoonfuls is an organization that facilitates the recovery and distribution of healthy, perishable food that would otherwise be discarded. Lovin’ Spoonfuls works efficiently to deliver this food directly to the community organizations and resources where it can have the greatest impact. Lovin’ Spoonfuls is committed to addressing the health, environmental and economic impact that food waste has on our community. Headquartered in Boston, MA, Lovin’ Spoonfuls is a 501c3, non-profit organization. Check out these impressive stats!

11,000,000+ pounds of food rescued to date
Partners with 140 agencies, serving 30,000 people weekly
Receiving would-be wasted food from 70+ vendors, supplying more than 65,000 pounds of food each week
6 trucks that visit 30 agencies each day

Read more about Lauren's passion for fighting local food waste in the first of this blog series here!

How can YOU play a part in the movement? Join us on April 28th at the Boston Public Market’s Agricultural Fest, and engage in our social media campaign - share your efforts to combat food waste by tagging us and using the hashtag #WDSDBoston for a chance to win a Slow Food prize!

World Disco Soup Day in Boston!

4/2/2019

Slow Food Boston is excited to announce that we are hosting a World Disco Soup Day event this month!
What’s World Disco Soup Day, you ask? WDSD is a world-wide initiative launched by Slow Food to raise awareness about global food waste. Armed with beautiful leftover ingredients and a passion for sustainability, the day celebrates coming together to have a bit of fun while tackling this pressing issue. In a nation where over a third of produced food is wasted while one in eight Americans go hungry, we are here to shed some light on this major problem and help the global Slow Food community strengthen our food systems, protect our environment, and improve our health.

This year is a special one for WDSD in Boston: we are taking part in Boston Public Market's Agricultural Festival on Sunday, April 28th to talk to you about what we can do to eliminate food waste! We feel fortunate in the Boston community to have a wealth of notable food waste-fighting organizations tackling this complex problem from all angles, and so to honor this day, each week leading up to the event we’ll be posting a series of exclusive interviews from inspiring leaders of the food-waste movement in the area including Lovin’ Spoonfuls, the Boston Area Gleaners, and more! We’re so excited that they will also be joining us on the 28th to offer a unique, comprehensive picture of how a city can unite forces to solve this large-scale issue.

How can you get involved? Other than coming out to see us at the event, you can take part in our first-ever World Disco Soup Day contest! Share on social media what you’re doing to prevent food waste - tips, recipes, stories, get creative! Oh, and be sure to tag us and use the hashtag #WDSDBoston to be in the running for some Slow Food swag and more.

Lastly (as if it couldn’t get any more exciting), this year’s WDSD marks the launch of the Slow Food Youth Network in Boston and the USA! This is a unique opportunity for aspiring young leaders passionate about promoting good, clean, fair food across the globe to make a lasting difference in making our food systems more sustainable, protecting biodiversity for future generations, and supporting our local farmers and producers. We are looking forward to harnessing the energy of our city’s vibrant youth community to contribute to a better food system, so let us know if you’re interested in getting involved, and stay tuned for future announcements and events!

We hope you will join us in our food waste campaign for this year’s World Disco Soup Day. Tune in for updates, announcements, stories, and interviews as we celebrate local and global efforts to eliminate food waste throughout April!

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