Recently Kayleigh and I have been working on promoting Slow Food through online social media sites like facebook and twitter. Slow Food Saratoga does have a facebook, twitter, and website that need to be maintained and Kayleigh and I share responsibility in doing so. We have been researching the local food scene on a few different levels. We are identifying farms, restaurants, other food distributers, markets and like minded organizations in hopes of networking. We are also creating a Slow Food database so that we can communicate and cross-promote events. It has been fun researching the local food scene; I hope to meet new people and further our mission.
Hi Emily. It sounds like all is going well. Tell me more about the slow food movement in Saratoga. Is it a new thing? Established? What strategies seem to be most successful in developing the movement?
ReplyDeleteHey Jeff!
ReplyDeleteI think the movement has been established within the local food community (farmers markets, etc) but still has so much potential to grow in the minds of mainstream saratogians. Although some people are well aware of the slow food presence many are not and there is work to be done. Kayleigh and I are the first interns that Slow Food Saratoga has had and therefore bring a younger mindset to the team. Unfortunatly we are both most familair with working in the confines of higher education. Creating social change in a community is much harder and much different. I believe that social media, although not my favorite aspect of development, is a very effective strategy for networking. It allows us to get the info out, share ideas with those who are interested, and reel in those who aren't. I also think a physical presence in necessary. We have events coming up and I am really excited to plan and participate in them. If we continue to build a stronger relationship within the community we have the ability to really make an impact on a grassroots level and I think that will be powerful.