Guess Who?
Guess who we spotted out and about at Slow Food Nation?
Guess who we spotted out and about at Slow Food Nation?
Good Food Garden: Love It or Hate It?
While attending the country's first-ever Slow Food Nation this weekend, I came across the Good Food Garden structure that the Food Network and the Share Our Strength unveiled just a week ago.
While attending the country's first-ever Slow Food Nation this weekend, I came across the Good Food Garden structure that the Food Network and the Share Our Strength unveiled just a week ago.
While I love the fact that Teich Garden Systems, which built the garden, designed it for everything from schoolyards to backyards, I also wonder if it's really necessary to have a special gardening platform, since people have been planting gardens for hundreds of years without them. What do you think of the Good Food Garden?
Food Network's Last-Minute Jump on the SFN Bandwagon
Yesterday morning, Food Network announced its participation in Slow Food Nation.
Yesterday morning, Food Network announced its participation in Slow Food Nation. Food Network, along with its charitable partner Share Our Strength, will "unveil a new original platform" called Good Food Gardens. The fully sustainable gardens will be filled with seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
The enclosed 10-by-16-foot cedar wood structures that hold the gardens are designed for the likes of schools, organizations, and homeowners. The first garden will debut across from San Francisco's highly buzzed-about Victory Garden, and be donated to a local Boys & Girls Club after the close of the event.
I find it unusual for Food Network to announce a partnership with Slow Food Nation just four days before the start of the event. They're also beating everyone to the punch by unveiling their proprietary garden the day before the festival actually begins. What do you think? Was this a last-minute effort on the part of the network?
Harvesting San Francisco's Victory Garden
Last week I went to City Hall to help harvest the Slow Food Victory Garden.
Last week I went to City Hall to help harvest the Slow Food Victory Garden. Developed as a solution to food shortages during World War I and II, victory gardens not only supply vegetables, fruit, and herbs to the masses, but they also act as a morale booster during tough times. Today Slow Food has partnered with San Francisco to showcase the spirit and power of the public victory garden. The victory of these gardens, however, is to reduce the food miles normally associated with the average American meal and promote homegrown local produce. 
Every Thursday a group of volunteers meets to harvest the vegetables. Arranged in a stunning concentric design, the garden provides food and illustrates the pure beauty of such vegetables as red chard and squash blossoms. While I picked bunches of collard greens and washed heads of lettuce, I couldn't help but think how vegetables are as gorgeous and colorful as flowers.
Do you have a garden? Have you ever been a part of a large-scale harvest? While you may not be able to experience this victory garden's harvest firsthand, you can take a look at my gallery filled with images. To do so, read more
