Slow Food® Utah

ORGANIZATIONS – UTAH (NGO)

Non–Governmental Organizations in Utah including cooperatives, community resource, social action and out–reach, cooking instruction organizations, with a common theme or aspect relating to food.

• (The) Community Food Co–op of Utah

  

  A project of the Crossroads Urban Center, in Salt Lake City, The Community Food Co–op of Utah is a "self–sustaining food purchasing network along the Wasatch Front that brings people together for food, savings, and community."

  "It’s a Simple Idea – Really – provide quality, healthy food at a substantial savings through cooperative purchasing; and build a sense of community by bringing people together and promoting volunteer service. The Community Food Co–op is for EVERYONE. Whether you are struggling to meet your basic food needs or are just looking for a way to share in community, you can be part of this simple exchange: giving and receiving."

  Serving communities all along the Wasatch Front and beyond, including yours! "Team Sites" are located in: Avenues area, Centerville, Delta, Dounwtown Salt Lake, Eagle Mountain, Glendale, Holladay, Layton, Magn, Midvale, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Park City, Payson, Provo, Rose Park, Sandy, South Salt Lake, Sringville, Sugar House, Tooele, Univ. of Utah area, West Jordan, and West Valley City.

  Discover the basics about the Co-op and then join the effort. Please note that due to the increasing popularity of this project, orders must now be placed two–weeks prior to the monthly distribution date. This is an opportunity to both receive quality afordable food and volunteer by helping to distribute food.

  Visit The Community Food Co–op of Utah to learn more and participate. You may also phone (801) 746-7878.

• Great Salt Lake Resource Conservation and Development Council, Inc.

  

  "Rooted in Our Past, Reaching into the Future."

  GSLRCDC is presently involved in Community Supported Agriculture in two ways:

• See "Community Supported Agriculture on their Projects page.
• The SLC People’s Market.
• HomeCooks Culinary Adventures

  

  Based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and offering "a full array of hands-on and demonstration cooking classes for home cooks and business owners. HomeCooks’ evening cooking program features individual and series-style 3 hour classes across a wide spectrum of international and American Regional cuisines with delicious menus that appeal to everyone. HomeCooks Culinary Adventures also offers a weekend program of half-day classes, where students can spend more time exploring specific techniques and culinary styles. All classes focus on the art of cooking, highlighting the use of the freshest seasonal ingredients at the height of their flavor. HomeCooks emphasizes the importance of using ingredients and products that are locally grown and produced.

  Jim Light, a life long culinarian, is the owner and founder of HomeCooks Culinary Adventures. He is an Honors Graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Jim has cooked professionally in fine dining establishments located in New York, Utah, and Wyoming." (Send e-mail to be added to the HomeCooks Newsletter list.)

• Local First Utah

  

  The "Buy Local First Utah" campaign was started by members of the Salt Lake Vest Pocket Business Coalition in 2004. "The campaign’s goals are to increase public awareness of local businesses and to encourage people to shop at locally-owned businesses. Local First Utah is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and enhancing the character of Utah communities through promotion of locally owned, independent businesses."

  Visit Local First Utah for the most recent Updates on Recent Local First Utah Activities:

• Mushroom Society of Utah

  

  "For those interested in finding wild mushrooms in one of our driest states."

  "Summer [2008] schedule is [not published yet (2/6/08)]:

  Contact: Mushroom Society of Utah, 2373 E 6660 S, Salt Lake City, UT 84121-2644 USA. Phone: (801) 942-0637 Email: dwjohnston@uswest.net.

   

   

   

• Article published in the Salt Lake Tribune, Thursday, September 14, 2006. Catch & Cook: Hunting for Mushrooms – "Hooked on Wild Picks "Utah foragers find their fill among a ’delightful group’ of kindred spirits." Includes video on mushroom hunting and a photo gallery.
• See also the Mushroom Society of Utah (old) Website.
• Other mushroom groups in Utah: Bridgerland Mushroom Society.
• One World Everybody Eats Foundation

  

  Vision: "The goal of the One World Everybody Eats Foundation is to eliminate world hunger through community building. We will do this by endeavoring to eliminate waste in the food industry, serve all organic food that is free of pesticides and antibiotics, support local organic farmers, pay employees a living wage and offer a hand–up volunteer training program, rather than a hand–out. We believe in strengthening and preserving our communities.

  The One World Everybody Eats Foundation is an outgrowth of One World Café in Salt Lake City, Utah. The cafe began with an epiphany by owner Denise Cerreta in mid 2003 to begin feeding people. With no experience in the restaurant business, she started with sandwiches and coffee at a small, downtown location. About 9 months later, she expanded her offerings to an all–organic fare with the help of excellent staff. Since then, she’s gained local, national and world–wide notoriety for her pay–as–you–go prices, no menus, a living wage, minimum food waste and healthy meals all for community benefit.

  The overarching philosophy is that food is central to life. However, our society uses food for many things which don’t involve nutrition or nurture. This leads to record obesity rates and associated ailments to include cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure. Meanwhile, our species is barely able to adequately provide subsistence to most of its people, with causes often tied to political, religious or economic extremism. Effect of these causes includes embargos of food freight, hoarding of food relief, malnutrition and starvation. In a land of abundance, we can do better.

  By encouraging people to savor the meal, Ms. Cerreta is attempting to help people see the value of food as more than a mere consumable but rather, as a glue and a catalyst for healthy people, relationships and communities. The customer chooses portion sizes, eating only what they want, thus helping them stop waste. In the beginning, this decreased waste may translate itself into more food for aid. Later, she hopes the concept itself will become exportable. The café doesn’t overfeed or withhold food.

  Philosophy meets business through her desire to pay her workers a living wage, as well as establish a volunteer program which provides training to any individual seeking employment in the food service industry."

  To learn more visit the One World Everybody Eats Website, visit the OWEE Newsroom, or watch their video at YouTube.com,

• Our Community Connection – Salt Lake

  

  Listing information for the progressive community in Utah, including community market place, events calendar, and resource directory. (It is a paid-listing directory that does contain information relevant to progressive food and other relevant issues in the Slow food universe.)

• Post Carbon Salt Lake is part of the Relocalization Network which "supports and connects Local Post Carbon Groups as they work towards Relocalizing their communities."

  

  What is Relocalization?

  "Our main response to these concerns is the strategy of Relocalization, which aims to build societies based on the local production of food, energy and goods, and the local development of currency, governance and culture. The main goals of Relocalization are to increase community energy security, to strengthen local economies, and to dramatically improve environmental conditions and social equity. The aim of Relocalization is to develop exemplary community actions that can be used locally and as working models for other communities when the effects of energy decline become more intense.

  Relocalization is the re–claiming of our socio–cultural and economic systems so that each locality operates well within its regional ecological boundaries. Relocalization is a strategy that moves one step further than the strategy of Localization, which primarily aims to increase the local production of goods and services in order to fight the detrimental effects of globalization. Relocalization supports the production of local goods and services while also making a firm commitment to reducing consumption and improving environmental and social conditions. In this way, communities begin to develop a greater degree of economic self–reliance and stronger sense of community."

  For further information on the Relocalization Network and it’s parent organization, the Post Carbon Institute, please visit the Slow Food Utah Organizations – National & Global page.)

• Salt Lake Community Action Program

  

  Part of the national Community Services Network which is made up of more than 1,100 local, private, non-profit and public agencies that work to alleviate poverty and empower low-income families in communities throughout the United States. Most of these agencies are Community Action Agencies (CAAs) or Community Action Programs (CAPs) created through the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. CAAs and CAPs provide services to more than 15 million low-income people annually in 99 percent of the nation’s counties. Approximately 22 percent of all Americans living in poverty and several million more families with incomes only slightly above the poverty line were served by CAAs and CAPS in 2004. Among them are 4 million children.

  The Salt Lake Community Action Program (SLCAP) is a not for profit organization that provides a wide range of services aimed at helping low-income people become self-sufficient.

  Mission: To eliminate the paradox of poverty in our affluent society.

  Purpose: To create programs that empower low-income people to enhance the quality of their lives by having them design and implement strategies that will create solutions to their problems.

• Salt Lake Community Action Program Emergency Food
• SLCAP Contact Information: 764 South 200 West Salt Lake City, Utah 84101 (801) 359-2444.  
• Utah Community Gardens Network (UCGN) [is a new project of Wasatch Community Gardens that] "links people involved in community gardens in Utah. It provides a venue for the sharing of ideas and resources so that community gardens continue to grow and flourish here in our beautiful desert state!"

  

• What is a Community Garden?
• "How to Build a Community Garden, some helpful start–up guides for starting a community garden."
• "The UCGN List Serv provides a forum for ideas and questions related to community gardening in Utah. Announcements about learning opportunities, garden events and resources are also posted [on the UCGN List Serv]."
  

  (See also Wasatch Community Gardens below.)

• Utah Food Bank

  

  "Utah Food Bank staff and volunteers work together to gather and distribute emergency food to individuals and families experiencing the pain of hunger in Utah.

  Last year the Utah Food Bank distributed over 21 million pounds of food to meet over 1.39 million requests. Food is gathered and sorted in the Utah Food Bank warehouse and then distributed throughout the state to more than 260 food pantries, churches, senior centers, after school programs and group homes." (Learn more about hunger in Utah.)

  Utah Food Bank Programs:

• DROPS (Delivery Redistribution Of Produce and Surplus) distributes fresh produce, dairy products, and day old bread to 24 sites in low–income neighborhoods throughout the state of Utah.
• Brown Bag/Food Box Program partners with LifeCare Bank to deliver bags or boxes of highly nutritious produce, meat, and dairy products to elderly individuals with low incomes to supplement their food purchases.
• Kids Café provides three dinners each week for hundreds of at-risk children at more than a dozen low–income areas throughout Utah. (Kids Cafe Locations and Hours.)

• Your contribution makes a difference:

  The Utah Food Bank can take $1.00 in donations and turn it into $13.00 of services! This is only possible because of the wonderful support from our community, through volunteers and generous food donations.

• Utahns Against Hunger

  

  "It takes more than food to fight hunger! Utahns Against Hunger works to reduce and eliminate hunger in the following ways:

  Education: Utahns Against Hunger works statewide to educate policy makers, elected officials, and the general public about hunger in Utah.

  Advocacy and Public Policy: UAH is a well-respected voice for policy changes that improve the lives of low-income Utahns. UAH works with state agencies to improve access to federal nutrition programs.

  Community Resource Center: UAH provides community organizations and low-income families with resource information about important local resources. UAH also assists clients in resolving problems they encounter when applying for public assistance.

  Working with emergency food pantries, providing them with information to assist their clients.

  Expansion of child nutrition programs.

  Work to improve the implementation of public policy in federal nutrition programs, as well as monitoring program effectiveness and ease of access.

  Statewide distribution of resource information tailored for each region.

  Direct service, providing a comprehensive list of emergency food pantries to the community as well as assisting people with food stamp problem resolution.

  Because of UAHs work, Utahns are better educated about their options and have easier access to food resources. By ensuring all Utahns have access to food, UAH aims to improve lives and eliminate hunger in Utah."

• Wasatch Community Gardens

  

  WCGs’ mission includes: "To help people grow and share fresh produce. To teach urban youth responsibility, cooperation and ecological awareness. To be an active resource for sustainable organic gardening."

  
  

  Wasatch Community Gardens (Highlights of some material on the WCG Website.):

  

• "The Utah Community Gardens Network (UCGN) links people involved in community gardens in Utah. It provides a venue for the sharing of ideas and resources so that community gardens continue to grow and flourish here in our beautiful desert state!"
• What is a Community Garden?
• "How to Build a Community Garden, some helpful start–up guides for starting a community garden."
• "The UCGN List Serv provides a forum for ideas and questions related to community gardening in Utah. Announcements about learning opportunities, garden events and resources are also posted [on the UCGN List Serv]."
• Upcoming WCG Events & Announcements
• WCG Workshops Listing all workshops scheduled for 2007.
• WCG Community Gardens are located at:
• Grateful Tomato Garden, 800 South 600 East, Salt Lake City.
• Fairpark Garden, 300 North 1037 West, Salt Lake City.
• Marmalade Garden, 222 West 600 North, Salt Lake City.
• 4th East Garden, 555 South 400 East, Salt Lake City.
  (See S. L. Tribune article "Urban Gardeners’ Plot Changes Hands," dated March 24, 2007.)
  [Webmaster’s Note: These two properties, Marmalade and 400 East, have reportedly been sold by owner, thus WCG is no longer able to use. I mourn their loss, but hope that other locations will become available and urge you, dear reader, to contact WCG if you’d like to help.]
• Wasatch Community Gardens Office is located at 345 East 400 South, Suite 204, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111.

  Phone: 801–359–2658