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Happy Chinese New Year (of the Rabbit, Hare, or Bunny)
Welcome to an upcoming few weeks of food-related activities in the community. We would like to use this newsletter to connect you to those events while we plan the next series of Slow Food O'ahu-sponsored events. We are working on several events coming up in the next few months. We'll be bringing back our Dinner and a Movie at V-lounge, showing the movie "Ingredients". We are also working on a visit to Kahumana Farms that will hopefully include a tour the farm and lunch at their restaurant. Please stay tuned for our information in our next newsletter.
Meanwhile, we are seeking volunteers for a Slow Food educational event (see article below on the Honolulu Chocolate Festival) this month. We hope you will help us out. We thank those of you who attended our Annual Meeting (see re-cap below) and offered your time and suggestions. Every suggestion will be considered. If you didn't attend, but have an idea, please feel free to contact us at slowfoodoahu@yahoo.com.
Your Executive Committee
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Changing the Way We Eat - TedX Viewing and Potluck BrunchFebruary 12, 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. University of Hawaii At Manoa Saunders Hall 640The Hawaii Food Policy Council is hosting a TedX Changing the Way We Eat Viewing Brunch Potluck Style, a one-day TEDx event on sustainable food and farming. It will explore our food system -- from what happened, to where we are, to what we are doing to shift to a more sustainable way of eating and farming. In an effort to have as many people as possible participate, the event will be webcast live. For those of you unfamiliar with TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), it is a small non-profit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, using talks and performances. Thought leaders from around the world are invited to give presentations up to 18-minutes long that explore important topics to society. We'll provide the tea, coffee, and water. You provide yourselves, a dish of local goodies, and some good conversation. The talks start at 5:30 a.m. Hawaii time. We will host the viewings of parts 2 and 3, which begin at 8:30 a.m. Info on the event is here: http://www.meetup.com/TEDxManhattan/Honolulu-HI/Hope to see everyone there! Spread the word! This is not a Slow Food O'ahu event but might be of interest to our members.
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University Laboratory School "Celebrate Aloha" Brunch and Movie "Fresh"
February 13, 2011 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
University of Hawai'i Laboratory School's student organized free brunch will show the family documentary "Fresh" and host games and crafts for the whole family at the ULS Multi-purpose building. The address is 1776 University Ave, UHS Building 3, Room 121, Honolulu, HI 96822, across the street from Yogurtland and the University of Manoa Campus.
The purpose of the event is to raise awareness about eating sustainably, and to celebrate 'Aina, 'Ohana, and our community around a fresh and local meal prepared by Project Pono students, and bought from local vendors. From the ULS: "Food & Family nights are inspired by our lessons in food and food production that we learned in from our teacher, Dr. Miki Tomita. We learned about the differences, benefits, dis/advantages of organic vs. conventional vs. local food, and spent a lot of time thinking about the wastes we generate and how it impacts our lives, our islands, and our world. What inspired us to try and create these Food and Family nights was that we felt helpless about the kinds of foods we ate because we as children are not doing the buying in our households - we wanted an opportunity to share with our parents the lessons we are learning about nutrition and local food production, and we also wanted an opportunity to share with them healthy alternatives to the food they may be filling our houses and our bodies with. It is our hope that these nights open up our families and community members minds and mouths to new foods and ideas, and promotes sustainability and environmentally friendly practices while also giving us an opportunity to build community and family relationships."
For questions, RSVP's, or volunteers contact Forest Abbott-Lum at abbottlumf2011@universitylaboratoryschool.org
This is not a Slow Food O'ahu event but may be of interest to our members.
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Food Discussions on the North Shore
February 14, 15, and 22, Kahuku Library, various times
Food-minded folk will want to be at the Kahuku Public and School Library for discussions about eating and growing food. The schedule is as follows:
- Monday, February 14, 11:00 a.m: The Kahuku Book Club will discuss Michael Pollan's "Omnivore's Dilemma," focusing on the fundamental question - What shall we have for dinner? Pollan describes different types of food chains: industrial, organic or alternative and foraged food.
- Tuesday, February 15, 6:30 p.m: Doctors Hector Valenzuela and Melissa Yee join taro farmer Danny Bishop for "Focus on Foods: The Importance of Local Farming, Food Sovereignty, and Non-GMO Foods." Learn about genetically modified seeds and the role science plays in feeding our families.
- Tuesday, February 22, 6:30 p.m: Farmer Travis Overley will share information and discuss his techniques on how to grow food organically.
Admission to all events is free. Call the Kahuku Library, 56-490 Kamehameha Hwy, 293-8935.
This is not a Slow Food O'ahu event but may be of interest to our members.
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The Next Steps in Farm to Table - Luncheon
February 17, 11:30 a.m. Hawai'i Prince Hotel 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
The Hawaii Society of Business Professionals, the Hawaii Restaurant Association, and the Hawai'i Hotel and Lodging Association present a luncheon to discuss the joy of eating wonderful local food in great surroundings and the 'farm-to-table' movement in Hawai'i. At the forefront of this locavore movement that marries the importance of saving agricultural lands, growing the best crops, buying fresh local produce, and enjoying local foods at the finest restaurants are Alan Wong, chef, and Richard Ha, Hamakua Springs Farm on the Big Island. They will be speaking along with moderator Chuck Furuya, the first sommelier in the State of Hawai'i.
The cost for the luncheon is $34 for members of HSBP, HRA, and HH&LA; $40 for guests and non-members. For more information or to sign-up, go to the HSBP website at www.hsbp.biz.
This is not a Slow Food O'ahu event but may be of interest to our members.
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Honolulu Chocolate Festival and Slow Food O'ahu Education Booth
February 26, 2011 Noon - 5:00 p.m. Dole Cannery Shops
Come see our Slow Food O'ahu booth at the Hawaii Chocolate Festival on Saturday, February 26, from noon to 5pm at the Dole Cannery Shops. The Festival is the culmination of "Hawaiian Grown Cacao Month" festivities statewide. The festival is a celebration of all things chocolate and spotlights Hawaiian-Grown cacao and Hawaiian chocolate makers and roasters. The Festival will be a platform to raise awareness of Hawai'i's emerging cacao industry and to elevate Hawaiian chocolate as Hawai'is new "ambassador for Aloha" worldwide. The event will include a chocolate tasting, live entertainment, guest speakers, chocolate and wine pairing and more. Visit the Chocolate Spa, Chocolate Garden and Coco Cafe & Tea House. Shop for everything chocolate. The cost for the festival is $20 but includes 10 chocolate samplings. For a list of events, check out http://www.hawaiichocolatefestival.com/
What better event to reflect SLOW concepts of supporting local food systems. Slow Food O'ahu will have a booth. However, we need volunteers for the booth, preferably 2 for each shift (shifts are 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.) To volunteer please contact Rike Weiss at rikeweiss@hotmail.com.
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| Slow Food O'ahu Annual Meeting Re-Cap |
Slow Food O'ahu had its Annual Meeting on January 31 with our best ever attendance--approximately 60 members present. We ran out of chairs, and an enthusiastic overflow of members congregated on the restaurant's kitchen floor, confirming the truism that the best parties occur in the kitchen.
Called to order by President Laurie Carlson, we had a productive business meeting. Our membership stands at 203 with approximately 514 people receiving our periodic newsletter, as reported by newsletter and membership coordinator Francine Wai. National membership dues have dropped from $60 to $25 to encourage membership, though there are no dual memberships anymore. As stated at the meeting, all dues go to support the efforts of the national organization.
Events Coordinator Michelle Philips summarized some of the year's 25 events our convivium hosted. Our activities included cooking or food demonstrations and classes (duck proscuitto, raw chocolate, fermentation, Chinese cooking, beekeeping/honey, fresh fish, north African cooking), tours (fish auction, Poamoho Farm, Aloha Tofu Factory, Sumida Watercress Farm, Big Aloha Brewery, Marimed Foundation), and work days (Reppun Farm for Dig In Work Day and Mohala Farms for Terra Madre Work Day). Fundraising events included an Italian wine tasting and the annual Culinary Swap Meet. We hosted a showing of "Fresh: The Movie", two food-related movies at Cinema Italiano, and participated in several Green Markets and Farmers Markets as part of our education and outreach efforts. And of course, we continued our popular Moloka'i beef connection of purchasing whole grass-fed cows for our members. Michelle looks forward to more activities in 2011 and welcomes your suggestions and willingness to coordinate an event.
2010 marked the initiation of our newsletter by editor Francine Wai and the revamping of our website by Martha Cheng, both designed to reach out to members. We initiated our popular Slow Suppers @ Home series of home suppers twice a year, thanks to Coordinator David Bangert; and our Slow Food O'ahu Cooking Club, thanks to Coordinator Gayle Goodman. In addition, we welcomed our e-mail correspondent Nina Bermudez, who is managing the slowfoodoahu@yahoo.com account. We thank all of our volunteers, without whom our activities would not happen. We are happy to announce that several additional members stepped forward to volunteer for various activities in the upcoming year. Volunteers for outreach activities, such as the staffing a booth at a farmers' market, should contact Rike Weiss, Outreach Coordinator.
Our bank account was managed by Treasurer Mae Isonaga and stands at approximately $11,000, with money generated from events' fees, fundraising activities, and some merchandise sales. A new item for sale is the Can-o-Worms bin for composting.
The primary reason we raise money is to assist our delegates with airline costs to attend the biennial Terra Madre (TM) event in Torino, Italy. Thi year, Slow Food O'ahu assisted four attendees participate. Three of the most recent TM participants, Derrick Kiyabu, San Shoppell, and Gida Synder, talked about their experiences at TM.
The current Executive Committee--Laurie Carlson, Michelle Phillips, Mae Isonaga, Rike Weiss, and Francine Wai will continue for another year.
Before we feasted on the bounty of potluck lunch, Kaliko Amona, Dexter Suzuki, and Lydi Morgan from Kokua Hawai'i Foundation gave a wonderful presentation on their program with the schools (school gardens and school lunches in particular). Their 'Aina in Schools program is a farm-to-school program dedicated to connecting children to their land, waters, and food in order to grow a healthier future for Hawai'i. Their areas of focus include addressing childhood health issues bu fostering healthy eating habits, encouraging environmental stewardship by connecting children to the land and water, and contributing to Hawaii's food security by supporting farmers. They are a great, hands-to-the-soil organization and look forward to working with Slow Food O'ahu in the upcoming year.
WOW! Those of you who were not able to attend missed a great meeting and an even greater array of dishes. Our potluck has to be the best selection of locally grown food in any setting - hands down. We hope that you will join us next year (though we will probably need to find a larger venue). But before then, we hope that you will join us in 2011 as we pursue the enjoyment and advocacy of good, clean, and fair food in Hawai'i. Kung Hee Fat Choy for the Year of the Hare.
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A little Slow Reading (Cross - "Pollanization")
The Honolulu Weekly's February 9, 2011 edition's feature story is titled "Get Growing" by Martha Cheng. http://honoluluweekly.com/cover/2011/02/get-growing/ If you click on the link to the left, the articles contain multiple links for (1) Effective Microorganisms and bokashi, (2) Windowsfarms Project, (3) Gardening Resources, (4) Edible Landscaping, (5) Rooftop farms, (6) Fowl Play (Asagi Hatchery), (7) A list of Gardening Classes, and links to major food sustainability articles in the Weekly during 2010.
A Food Manifesto for the Future by Mark Bittman in The Opininator in the New York Times
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/a-food-manifesto-for-the-future/?ref=global-home
The Future of Food and Farming: Challenges and Choices for Global Sustainability (a large report in PDF form) http://bis.ecgroup.net/Publications/Foresight/GlobalFoodandFarmingFutures/11546.aspx
Thanks to the following contributing readers for the above articles: Robert Schmidt, Eileen Cain, The Honolulu Weekly. If you have an article to share, please send the link to slowfoodoahu@yahoo.com to the attention of "Newsletter editor".
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Slow Food Leadership
Slow Food O'ahu Officers:
Laurie Carlson, President; Francine Wai, Secretary/Membership/Newsletter; Michelle Phillips, Events; Mae Isonaga, Treasurer; Rike Weiss, Outreach.
Email correspondent: Nina Bermudez
Web master: Martha Cheng
Quick Links
Slow Food O'ahu Convivium website
Slow Food Hawai'i Convivium website
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