Slow Food Savors Its Big Moment

Kim Serverson, a NY Times journalist, writes about the big Slow Food USA party in San Fransico with her article, "Slow Food Savors Its Big Moment." To get things ready, the mayor let the group dig up the lawn in front of City Hall and plant a quarter-acre garden. Fifteen architects have volunteered to build elaborate pavilions dedicated to things like pickles, coffee and salami. Nearly $2 million has been raised. The Slow Foodies hope this festival will be like Woodstock and will open up the idea to people. They also realize that it may be their best chance to prove that Slow Food, as a movement, is not just one big wine tasting with really hard to find cheeses that you weren’t invited to. This movement has not been as popular in America as it has been in Europe so the leaders of the movement in the US are trying to make it over to become more inviting to outsiders. Corby Kummer, a food columnist, says "I don’t know if it’s going to be the youthful, happening Woodstock they want it to be, but it certainly has the potential. It will be a failure if it is only well-dressed people over 35 from the Bay Area treating it as if it’s another Ferry Plaza Farmers Market,"(Serverson). Outside of the tight culinary circles of San Francisco and New York, people seemed to have a hard time figuring out exactly what Slow Food did. Despite all of the negative comments about Slow Food, it has raised money to help farms that suffered from hurricane Katrina. Many of the leaders hope that the movement will catch one.
This article was really helpful for my blog. It showed me the way most Americans view the Slow Food Movement. I got to understand why it might not be so popular even though it has good intentions. The article also explained how the leaders of the movement in the US are trying to come up with new ideas to actively recruit new members. Maybe with their effort, the members can change the way most Americans eat.

Serverson, Kim. "Slow Food Savors Its Big Moment ." NY Times 23 July 2008: n. pag. Web. 5 Apr 2010. .