The Capital Region Farmers Market will host a special Slow Soup Kitchen where patrons can try soups made completely from local produce, and pay what they think it’s worth. The Slow Soup Kitchen will be onsite at the markets this Saturday 5 December as part of the inaugural Terra Madre Day celebrations.
On the twenty year anniversary of Slow Food, Canberra Slow Food people are organising the unique Slow Soup Kitchen as a reminder that people should get back to the basics, and to celebrate Terra Madre Day.
“The Capital Region Farmers Market is a perfect match for the Slow Food movement which celebrates the joy of food, the people who make and grow food, and the people that love to eat fresh local produce. We have all of those people at the markets on a regular basis,” said Peter O’Clery, Grower’s Representative for the Capital Region Farmers Markets, and long time supporter of Slow Food Canberra.
The Slow Food movement came about exactly twenty years ago when a few Italians decided that the pace of life was moving too fast and it was time to slow down and counteract the disappearance of local food traditions, people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.
The inaugural worldwide Terra Madre Day will be officially marked on 10 December and celebrates locally produced food that is good, clean and fair – food that tastes good and is produced without harming the environment and taking social justice issues into consideration. It is celebrated across 150 countries by Slow Food’s 100,000 members.
“Events such as the markets’ Slow Soup Kitchen will raise attention of the importance of eating locally.
“Foods sourced from as close to home as possible is the most responsible way to live today and by purchasing directly from farmers, we know where and how our foods are produced, how far they have travelled and therefore the freshness and, at these markets, we can visually appraise the quality of all these foods and talk to the growers,” said Mr O’Clery.
Canberra’s Slow Soup Kitchen will dish up vichyssoise, beef, bean and vegetable soup, beetroot soup and pistou, all served with wood fired breads made by members and chefs using locally sourced produce generously donated by growers.
Proceeds from the Slow Food Kitchens are supporting the establishment of School Kitchen Gardens in the ACT and surrounding districts, and to raise funds for representatives to attend Terra Madre in Turin in 2010.
The Capital Region Farmers Market in Canberra is a genuine farmers market with over 100 stalls offering a diverse range of fresh food and agricultural produce straight from the producer to the customer. It is held every Saturday morning at Exhibition Park from 8 am to 11 am.
All funds generated from the Market are fed back into regional communities and other projects chosen by the Rotary Club of Hall which founded the Market in 2004.