Events Calendar
Farmers Market Schedule
- Tuesdays at Truckee River Regional Park, 8am-1pm
- Tuesdays at Kings Beach SRA, 9am -1pm
- Thursdays at Tahoe City's Commons Beach, 8am-1pm
FOOD SWAP UPDATE: Long live the Food Swap!
Slow Food Lake Tahoe Board members met on Friday, Dec 16th with the Nevada County Department of Environmental Health (NCDEH) to discuss the October Food Swap that was cancelled due to a suspected violation of California Food Retail Law. It was a successful meeting, with important information shared by both groups. And the good news is, our TruckeeTahoe Food Swap will continue to be held once a month. Thanks to those of you who signed our petition having your support at this meeting really helped! SFLT informed the NCDEH of the changing needs and desires of local community members in regards to fresh and local food access. To our surprise, it turns out that they are aware that the current laws need changing. We learned of current policy discussions happening right now that aim to amend regulations that apply to small food producers, CSAs, school gardens, and other community-based food initiatives. That's not to say that food safety will take a back seat to consumer demands, but the representatives we talked with realize that umbrella laws designed for large corporate food producers are simply too burdensome to sustain small, local food production efforts. The next step is to get involved on the legislative level to help promote state-wide and national change! Email us if you'd like to get involved! Let your voice be heard!
Please also check out the new TruckeeTahoe Food Swap website. Sign up for the newsletter and RSVP for upcoming swaps via this site!
We're still gathering support: please take a moment and sign our petition >>
Why This Is Important
On Oct 30th, the community of Truckee, CA tried to hold a 'food swap' at a local winery. Since the food swap was advertised as a public event in a public venue any food served has to come from a regulated kitchen according to California health and safety code. The Nevada County Dept of Environmental Health issued a warning to the winery and said they could be held liable, so the swap was cancelled.
We are petitioning to allow a food swap to be held in a public location as a FREE community event; free from any association with CA Food Retail Code and exempt from retail or commerce law. We ask that the terms and concepts of "swap" and "share" not be associated with the terms and concepts of "retail", "commerce", or "trade".
Movie Night A Success!
On March 22, around 60 people gathered at Sawtooth Ridge Cafe in Tahoe City to watch a Slow Food Lake Tahoe screening of the movie Fresh. The 2009 documentary celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. Each has witnessed the rapid transformation of our agriculture into an industrial model, and confronted the consequences: food contamination, environmental pollution, depletion of natural resources, and morbid obesity. Forging healthier, sustainable alternatives, they offer a practical vision for a future of our food and our planet.
After the movie, the a panel of experts fielded questions from the audience about farming, healthy eating and the challenges of small, organic growers. Slow Food Lake Tahoe's panelists included naturopathic doctors Stephanie Riley and Christina Campbell from the Tahoe Center For Natural Medicine, John Shaw of Truckee's Shaw Family Farm, New Moon Natural Foods produce buyer Michael Kugler and Chris Kerston from Chaffin Family Orchards.
At the end of the evening, guests were able to purchase organic meat, eggs, jam, olive oil and fruit from Chris Kerston's stand.
SFLT would like to thank all the panelists who gave their time and expertise to making this event a success. In addition, Nanci Davis of Sawtooth Ridge Cafe generously donated use of her space.
Did you attend the screening? Leave us a comment:
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