NEWS RELEASE FROM SLOW FOOD USA

Slow Food USA Pushes to Help Schools Serve Real Food

Time for Lunch Campaign Plans to Send Thousands of Letters to Congress Calling for Big Changes to the Upcoming Child Nutrition Act to End Child Obesity and Diabetes

BROOKLYN, New York – February 9, 2010 – Slow Food USA (www.slowfoodusa.org) today
announced that its 90,000 members and advocates are rallying the public to tell Congress to get
serious about ending child obesity when legislators begin updating the Child Nutrition Act. Last
week, President Obama proposed adding $1 billion per year to the bill, which the organization
commends as “a good start.”

“President Obama’s proposal to add $1 billion per year to the Child Nutrition Act is an important
step forward,” stated Josh Viertel, president, Slow Food USA. “But, it’s not enough to give
America’s kids a healthy future, especially when nearly one third of our children are overweight
or obese and when Congress spends at least $13 billion per year subsidizing the production of
unhealthy processed foods. The public needs to speak up and tell Congress to make real
improvements to school lunch.”

Right now, Congress gives schools $2.68 for each lunch served, of which only about $1 goes
towards ingredients. President Obama has proposed adding $1 billion per year to the Child
Nutrition Act, but the money will need to be split up between many critical programs. At most,
schools would receive an additional 20 cents per meal. At most, schools would receive an
additional 20 cents per meal, which falls short of what they need to serve a healthful lunch with
sufficient fruits, vegetables and whole grains. School nutrition directors and advocates agree
that this would cost $1 more per lunch. Hence Slow Food USA is asking Americans to tell their
legislators to add at least $1 billion to the Child Nutrition Act, and strengthen nutrition standards
and help schools start farm-to-school programs.

Slow Food USA Pushes to Help Schools Serve Real Food
“The math speaks for itself,” continued Viertel. “Obesity and diabetes costs our nation $263
billion per year. And school lunch is so under-funded that most schools can only afford to serve
the cheap processed foods that fuel obesity and diabetes. Investing at least $1 billion in child
nutrition programs is the smart thing to do. Otherwise, we’re continuing to put our kids, our
economy, our health care system and our quality of life at risk.”

The Time for Lunch campaign web site (www.slowfoodusa.org/timeforlunch) makes it quick and
easy for anyone to send emails to their legislators. Slow Food USA has set a goal of sending
100,000 emails to Congress.

BaconFest 2010

February 26 and 27. The word is out, but just to be sure: do not miss BaconFest 2010 here in beautiful Knoxville. It will be 2 days of pure bacon bliss featuring Allen Benton and many, many others.

“We eat the whole hog, from the ears to the lips to the feet, all but the squeal, and we serve bacon, sausage, and pork chops all for breakfast. As for beef, it is not a mountain tradition.” An eastern Kentucky Highlander on the use of the pig.

Day 1, Swine and Dine. February 26 @ the Glowing Body, 8:00 P.M. Purchase tickets @ http://www.knoxbaconfest.com/. There will be 4 courses from celebrated Knoxville chefs: Holly Hambright, General Manager Nama Sushi Bar Bearden, Catering Consultant for EOS Catering; Dave McCauley and Chris Dufree, Pitmasters for Q the Pig a BBQ Production; Robert Birkholz of the Tomato Head Maryville; and Meg Parrish and Lindsay Beeson of Craft and Spoon. Our sponsors are amazing, the world renowned Allen Benton will be on hand to discuss his product; Downtown Wine and Spirits have given us a hand selected Buffalo Trace Bourbon to taste; and we'll have coffee from Old City Java.

Day 2, BaconBits. February 27 @ Ironwood Studios, 7:00 P.M. $5 at the door.This is your chance to shine. It will be a semi-competitive bacon off. Bring your favorite bacon dish and drink. BaconBits will feature live music from Trisha Jean Brady and Mike McGill: Upland South and Friends and PRIZES awarded for various bacon categories such as, best use of bacon grease, most pork/bacon used in a dish, most contemporary interpretation of a traditional recipe, most exotic, and many more. There will be a suggested $5 cover for BaconBits that includes a sampling of contestants' food, live music, and other tasty treats.
Entry rules and recipe cards @ http://www.knoxbaconfest.com/

For more information email Mockingbird Events!

FRESH SCREENING

The Highlander Research and Education Center is hosting a FRESH screening on Tuesday, February 2nd in the Community Room at the Magnolia campus of Pellissippi State College, located at 1610 E. Magnolia Ave, Knoxville. Doors open at 5:30, movie begins at 6pm with discussion to follow. Snacks will be provided by Three Rivers Market. The event is free, but donations are appreciated and will go to support the Highlander Research and Education Center. Directions available at www.pstcc.edu/maps.html .

FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision of our food and our planet’s future. FRESH addresses an ethos that has been sweeping the nation and is a call to action America has been waiting for. To learn more, you can view the attached document or visit www.freshthemovie.com.

To learn more about the Highlander Center, click here, and for more information about Three Rivers Market, Knoxville's Community Food Co-op, click here.

Taking the Mystery out of Meat

Check out the latest SF Knoxville workshop: Sausage Making with Tracy Monday from Laurel Creek Farms!

The Appalachian Pantry Dinner

Saturday, January 23rd, 7pm until 10pm
Ironwood Studios
119 Jennings Avenue, Knoxville
$75 per guest, $60 for Slow Food members

This event has sold out!

This year Slow Food Knoxville will raise funds to send a delegate to Terra Madre, a biennial conference organized by Slow Food and held in Torino, Italy. Ben Epperson of Beardsley Farm will share an amazing weekend with farmers, artisans, chefs and educators from around the world, making connections and bringing new ideas home to Knoxville's food community. For more information about Terra Madre visit www.terramadre.info


In keeping with the Slow Food ideal of good, clean and fair food, Chef Matt Gallaher will prepare this dinner with ingredients nearly exclusively sourced from the surrounding counties. Even in the dead of winter, while the garden slumbers, the Appalachian Pantry allows us to eat locally. And eat well at that! The Meal will feature some of the area's most celebrated farms and producers. Allan Benton's amazing Tennessee Bacon, Laurel Creek Farm Pastured Meats and Cruze Farm Buttermilk will be paired with Southern wines and Shady Grove Mead.

The Menu:
Cruze Farm Buttermilk and Benton's Bacon Pralines
Deviled Laurel Creek Farm Hen Eggs with Tennessee Chow Chow
Beaten Biscuits with Benton's Country Ham and Muddy Pond Sorghum Butter
Shady Grove Sparkling Mead

Slow Roasted Laurel Creek Farm Pork Belly
Salad of 4K Farm Beets, Carrots and Turnips
Muddy Pond Sorghum Vinaigrette
BlueSlip White Steuben

Braised Laurel Creek Farm Beef Shortrib
Benton's Bacon Collard Greens
Cruze Farm Buttermilk Grits
Braised Vegetable Jus
Arrington Vineyard Red Fox Red

Toasted Laurel Creek Farm Egg Pound Cake
Lavender Honey Buttercream
Shady Grove Mead Spiked Peach Preserves
Shady Grove Blackberry Mead

New Cooking Skills Class using seasonal, local produce

Practical Preparation and Cooking Skills

Instructor: Brian McKinney

mckinneyb4@k12tn.net

The Chef/ Instructor will demonstrate how to prepare seasonal foods using appropriate cooking methods. Participants in this hands-on class will develop essential knife skills and understand various moist heat cooking/ combination cooking methods. With the instructor’s guidance, students will use local, pesticide-free ingredients to create stocks, soups, stews, and braised dishes.

Registration will take place January 5 thru January 15, 2010.

Registration fee is $60.00. A lab fee of $40.00 is incurred to defray the cost of the supplies and the foods that will be prepared. Space is limited to 10 adults. Students may be asked to provide preparation and storage equipment for ease in transporting class prepared foods.

7 class meetings beginning the week of January 26

Course Introduction/Class Meeting on Tuesday January 26, 2010 6:00-7:00 p.m. (Course Introduction/ Class meeting

Class will meet weekly on Tuesdays, beginning on February 2, 2010- March 9, 2010 from 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Classes will take place at the Lincoln Park Technology and Trade Center

535 Chickamauga Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37917

To register: 865-689-1454

An Introduction to Charcuterie: Artisanal Sausage ...

An Introduction to Charcuterie: Artisanal Sausage Tasting and Demonstration Sunday, January 17th, 3pm until 6pmThe Market at Washington and High606 High Street, Maryville 37804Join Slow Food Knoxville at the Market at Washington and High in Maryville for a sausage party! We will sample and learn to make an assortment of artisanal sausages with Tracy Monday of Laurel Creek Farm. Laurel Creek Farm is a family farm on the Cumberland plateau that raises beef, pork, lamb and fowl using clean husbandry practices, with respect for the animals and the land that they graze upon. Tracy will share his experiences with small farming as he guides us though the process of making cured sausages such as salami, sopressata and summer sausage. These sausages, as well as natural casings and hormone-free, pasture raised meats will be available for purchase at the class.To purchase tickets for this event visit: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/92872