About us

Our Mission

     Our mission is to promote affordable access to "good, clean, fair" food
     by creating awareness about and engagement with our food system 

Slow Food UW

We are a group for UW students who are interested in where our food comes from, geographically and culturally. Started in 2007, Slow Food UW is part of a global movement that appreciates the stories behind the meals we eat. UW Madison is one of the first universities in the nation to start a university chapter of Slow Food. Our group builds on years of success in uniting local chefs, farmers, and students in bringing the rich traditions of slow, sustainable, and local eating to campus. Our major projects include: Family Dinner Night (weekly dinners events); Celebrate South Madison (aiding underserved neighborhoods by connecting farmers, the UW campus, and the South Madison community); Farm-to-University (improving our campus food system); our upcoming Cafe (serving the most delicious, affordable, sustainable food on campus) and ongoing outreach (workshops on canning, composting, and other skills; lectures given by farmers and chefs; and volunteer work trips to local farms).

We are always looking for new projects, partners, and people to get involved!

To get involved or to suggest a partnership, contact us!

To find out who we are, meet the current Slow Food UW leaders!

What is the Slow Food movement?

Everyone eats, and what we eat affects not only our health and well being, but also the environment, economy and society. Agriculture is one of the primary uses of land and water resources, and our food choices affect how these resources are used as well as the livelihoods of farmers and agricultural and food service workers. In the terms of Slow Food’s founder, Carlo Petrini, our food choices make us all “co-producers.” They began by engaging cooks, and then food communities, farmers, cheese, wine, other food producers, and most recently academics doing research on Slow Food issues. The movement has been expanding over the past decade, from dealing with issues of quality in cooking to include environmental and sustainable agriculture, social justice, and food sovereignty, and more.