Slow Food movement examined at Green Drinks gathering

Submitted by Green Drinks McHenry County

The public is invited to Green Drinks McHenry County from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, at Duke’s Alehouse & Kitchen, 110 N. Main St. in Crystal Lake. Head upstairs at Duke’s for info and inspiration, business and pleasure. Come talk about “greening” the future with others. Must be 21 to purchase alcohol. Nonalcoholic drinks are available, of course.

This month’s topic is “Slow Food,” presented by Pat Inman, a senior research associate at the Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University developing sustainable regional food systems. She has served on the board of the Woodstock Farmers Market and was one of the U.S. delegates to Slow Food’s Terra Madre in 2011.

November is a time to celebrate the harvest as you look forward to Thanksgiving. Slow Food is a network of 100,000 members in over 150 countries — grouped in 1,500 local chapters called convivia — that develops activities, projects and events at a local, regional and global level.

These currently include: more than 5,000 Slow Food initiatives each year; more than 10,000 small producers involved in more than 400 Presidia projects; over 1,000 products at risk of extinction promoted through the Ark of Taste catalog; 1,300 food education activities and 350 school gardens in 100 countries; Terra Madre network activities which involve 2,000 food communities, 1,000 cooks, 500 academics and 1,000 young activists For information on the Slow Food movement, visit www.slowfoodusa.org.

There will be an information table set up, and you are welcome to bring information about your green products and services each month to share. Additional parking is available at the train station. To be added to their email list, send a note to: GreenDrinksMC@gmail.com or “like” the group on Facebook at www.FaceBook.com/GreenDrinksMcHenryCounty.