Slow Food coming to Reno

Joe and Nancy Horn, owners of Dish Café, are in the process of creating a Slow Food chapter in Reno.

Previously, the closest Slow Food chapter was in Truckee. The consensus was that there weren’t enough interested people in Reno to create a chapter here.

However, the group’s first organizational meeting drew more than 20 people, and another planning meeting is set for late April. Nancy says that once the website is developed, the group’s bylaws filed, and other logistics dealt with, Slow Food Reno should be up and running by early summer.

“It’s in the baby stages,” she says. “Everybody wants to plant and support local foods and all of that, so I think it’s good timing. I think Reno is ready.”

Slow Food is an organization, as well as a way of growing and eating food. It involves preserving “endangered” foods and ways of preparing them. It eschews chemical agriculture and generally involves eating locally, seasonally and sustainably. Its mission statement reads: “Slow Food USA seeks to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system. We reconnect Americans with the people, traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and waters that produce our food. We seek to inspire a transformation in food policy, production practices and market forces so that they ensure equity, sustainability and pleasure in the food we eat.” To find out more about the slow food movement visit www.slowfoodusa.org.