Adopt-a-Farmer for Terra Madre 2010!

Terra Madre is an international conference involving food producers, cooks, educators, and students from over 150 countries who are united by a common goal of global sustainability in food. This year, Slow Food Vancouver is raising funds to send local producers to Terra Madre 2010.  To reach this goal you can assist by donating to our Terra Madre Fund. Email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or Donate Online Now

The local delegates chosen to attend Terra Madre 2010 (in the first round of selection by international) are:

Andrea Carlson, Bishops Restaurant
Mark Bomford, Director, Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm
Christopher Hergesheimer, Grain Chain Project, Flour Peddler, Urban Grain CSA Coordinator
Holger Schwichtenberg, Holberg Dairy Farm
Amy Suess, Skeeter Farm (CSA)
Heather Pritchard, Community Farm Director (FarmFolk/CityFolk) and Glorious Garnish Organics
Jordan Maynard, Southlands Farm, Vancouver (CSA)

The “food communities” of Terra Madre come together biennially to share innovative solutions and time-honored traditions for keeping small-scale agriculture and sustainable food production alive and well. Held in Torino, Italy. Terra Madre has inspired a new framework for discourse on food and sustainability, one where ideas, strategies, partnerships and alliances prosper. Over five days, there are opportunities to hear from notable speakers and participate in Earth-related workshops on themes such as climate change, native breeds, and Participative Development Models. The Salone del Gusto - the world’s largest artisanal food marketplace - is held concurrently, in part for delegates to gain a deeper sense of how small-scale sustainable producers can market their products effectively.

Many delegates have come away inspired from the meeting, with a greater sense of the shared commonalities among the world’s sustainable food producers, cooks, and academics. They have returned to their farms, restaurants, and universities with renewed dedication, empowered with the knowledge that they now belong to the international Terra Madre network.

In 2008, UBC student Bryanna Thiel was able to attend the Terra Madre conference as a student representative. “It is hard to describe the energy and emotion one feels in a stadium filled with over 6,000 people who believe in one common goal – a sustainable and secure food system that depends on the diversity of the people of the world and a devotion to small-scale agriculture” said Thiel.  Read more of her story here.

The next edition of the Terra Madre conference in Torino will be held in the fall of 2010. Slow Food Vancouver has 9 delegates attending who are representing the food communities of grain, dairy, market gardens. Plus we have one chef. We are fundraising to subsidize the airfare for our delegates.  Contribute by donating to the Terra Madre Fund. By sending our farmers to Terra Madre, you are helping to contribute to the food security of your local area, encouraging farming as a career,  and promoting healthy futures for all residents of the Lower Mainland.

The Terra Madre Fund campaign to send our local farmers to Terra Madre 2010 is a joint project between Farm Folk/City Folk and Slow Food Vancouver.  For a tax receipt for your donation to Adopt-A-Farmer and for more information on Farm Folk/City Folk contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).