UC SAREP food systems analyst part of international Slow Food conference in Italy

Opening ceremony of Slow Food gathering "Terra Madre" in Turin, Italy. (photo from Slow Food Archives)

Davis—Gail Feenstra, food systems analyst at the UC Davis-based Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), presented results from a study of the Davis Joint Unified School District's farm-to-school salad bar program at Terra Madre, the world's largest Slow Food gathering in Turin, Italy. More than 5,000 small farmers, 1,000 chefs, and numerous community organizers and researchers gathered to promote the strengthening of local food traditions and agriculture last month. Feenstra participated in a panel with international experts and shared the successes and challenges of supplying Davis school kitchens with locally grown produce.

Feenstra said the goal of many of the farm-to-school programs throughout North America and Europe is to transform children's understanding and connection to healthy eating and local agriculture while also providing markets for local farmers.

"The great joy of the Terra Madre gathering was the enthusiasm of the participants, who came from 130 countries," said Feenstra. "Many of them are also working to encourage farmers, consumers and communities to work together to create a more locally based, self-reliant food economy. We were all advocates for small- and mid-scale farms that find it is increasingly difficult to compete in highly consolidated commodity markets."

Northern California farmers, chefs and food system researchers attending Terra Madre included Michael Pollan, the UC Berkeley journalism professor whose book "The Omnivore's Dilemma'' is the UC Davis campus community book, Judith Redmond, partner in Full Belly Farm, Capay Valley, and Alice Waters, chef and founder of the acclaimed Chez Panisse Restaurant in Berkeley.

Feenstra's research on farm-to-school salad bars is available as a free download at http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/cdpp/farmtoschool/index.htm. Her work on regional marketing is also available at http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/cdpp/foodsystems/MarketingReportFinal_5_10.pdf.

Media contact:
Gail Feenstra, SAREP, (530) 752-8408, gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu

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