Dining in the Heartland at Joseph Decuis Farm
3:00 to 7:30 pm Thursday • June 20, 2013
An afternoon and evening at the farm about 6 miles north of Roanoke, Indiana (about 15 miles west of Fort Wayne).

Download Event Flyer

This fundraiser is hosted by Pete and Alice Eshelman for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF). FTCLDF, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, created to defend the rights and broaden the freedoms of family farms and artisan food producers while protecting consumer access to raw milk and nutrient-dense foods

Register by May 31 to receive free DVD An Indiana Farm to Fork Celebration – the Joseph Decuis Story

Tickets:
$250 VIP Farm Tour & Heartland Dinner
$100 Heartland Dinner
price is $50 per child aged 3-10 (under age 3 free)

Event Schedule
3:00 pm VIP Farm Tour
Enjoy the full farm and dinner experience.

5:00 pm Heartland Dinner featuring Wagyu Beef Barbecue
Keynote Remarks – “Taking Back Our Food System”

Meet Fund Board Members and Special Guests, including Pete Kennedy, Esq., president; Sally Fallon Morell, author of Nourishing Traditions & Weston A. Price Foundation president; Elizabeth Gamsky-Rich, Esq., vice president; John Moody, author of Food Clubs and Co-op Handbook; Gary Cox, Esq., FTCLDF General Counsel; Kristin Canty, director/producer of Farmageddon;

For tickets & info, visit www.farmtoconsumer.org/events or call (703) 208-FARM (3276) by June 13, 2013

To that end, Slow Food USA is hosting a national leadership conference in New Orleans from May 16th-19th for chapter leaders all over the country. Board members Despi Ross and Rob Gaston are attending to represent all the great things that are happening here in Indy, and let Slow Food USA know that Indianapolis has great leaders who are making a positive change in our food system day by day. The networking, learning, and enthusiasm fostered by these conferences is beyond measure.

Monies raised towards this trip will help us keep our chapter funds to use on local support and projects. Support our Slow Food USA conference participation here.

How to Prepare

Dress code

• Long pants (jeans are fine).
• Non-skid, close-toed shoes and socks (tennis shoes are fine).
• T-shirt or long sleeve shirt, no tank tops.
• Baseball cap or hat (we have hair nets available if you do not have a cap).
• No dangling or excessive jewelry, headphones or cell phones.

Directions

• 1121 Southeastern Ave. Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
• Visit http://www.secondhelpings.org/contact-us for a map of where we are located

Parking and Entering Building

• Free parking lot on the south side of the building; additional spots on the east side.
• Enter via the Volunteer Door on the south side of the building (near the parking lot) and ring the doorbell.
• Group will meet in the Front Lobby.

What to Expect

In order to learn more about Second Helpings, your group will start with a tour at 4:00 pm.  Next, you will begin your volunteer activities by 4:30 pm. Your group will help us chop and prepare various rescued food ingredients in our Hunger Relief Kitchen, and then break for a delicious dinner around 7:00 pm. Finally, everyone helps with clean-up before leaving around 8:00 pm (or when the Kitchen is clean).

Your specific tasks may include: washing, dicing and roasting vegetables and cooked or raw protein items such as beef, chicken or ham; wrapping pans of food with plastic and aluminum foil; washing dishes in the dish machine or by hand; and putting dry dishes away.  Clean-up will begin around 7:15 and may include: cleaning and sanitizing work tables; washing knives, cutting boards and other utensils used in your projects; cleaning the drains under the tilt skillets; collecting and taking out the trash, recyclables and cardboard to their designated outdoor bins; and sweeping and mopping the floors. We will try to wrap up by 8:00 pm or shortly after.

Water and snacks will be available throughout the evening. We suggest that you leave valuables at home or secure them in your vehicle. We encourage volunteers to turn off communication devices. Please step out of the Kitchen if taking urgent calls and wash your hands before returning to the Kitchen. Thank you!

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My travel arrangements for the Slow Food Congress in Louisville were probably easier than anyone else who attended, other than the kind and very hospitable folks of Slow Food Bluegrass. What an incredible gift to be only a couple hours away from such a great hub of Slow Food activity! And while the bus ride over my Indiana terrain, which is often described as “flat and boring”, was uneventful, inside I was experiencing an emotional roller coaster.

Falling into the trap of “fast living” and modern society, I had formerly grown numb to the natural beauty that is all around me as I traveled the roads and highways of Indiana, but something about today was different. Perhaps it was the just right light of an afternoon sun lingering in the sky before making its slow descent and yielding into evening, combined with my head which was buzzing with all things Slow Food. All I wanted was to sit and experience, enjoy that moment. I suddenly saw these flat and boring fields, farms, and gardens as beautiful, something natural and nourishing and wonderful in their own way. I knew that soon these bare brown dirt rows would be speckled with green, as vines and sprouts began stretching their way out of the ground, reaching for that same sun that was now painting such a beautiful landscape for me. I wondered how I had not seen all the vast potential and nourishment that was right there in front of me all along.

In the middle of this private moment of awe and appreciation, I suddenly felt a queasy pit in my stomach, but it was not from the rocking and swaying of the bus as it ambled toward our destination. I remembered how I had heard that much of the corn grown in my great state is not even for human consumption. I thought of how it might be fed to animals who are not designed to digest it, or perhaps turned into high fructose corn syrup, something designed for us which we would be better not to digest. I also thought of the soybeans that would be grown here and turned into a base for a multitude of processed and manufactured foods, bearing no resemblance to their original or natural form.

This was already disappointing, but then my gut took another drop as if the bus had just jumped a small ramp, when I thought of all the other people who were filling up this bus. The person to my left was using an e-reader, behind me someone was staring at a smartphone, and most were simply asleep or just tuned out to the world. I wondered if they even noticed the land, and if they did were they inspired, sickened, or bored as I had once been?

At this point I chuckled at myself, realizing that my mind is not a bison and thus should not be allowed to roam free in this manner! I could hardly judge the people around for being immersed in technology, reading, or just resting. They were dealing and coping with the world in the best way that they knew, taking advantage of the tools, gadgets, and time killers our society has come up with. Their minds were not reeling because they had decided to occupy their brains otherwise, or perhaps turn them off for a short time. And I remembered that change always begins with awareness. Awareness such as the moment I realized I huffed and puffed every time I took the stairs which changed my weight by 40 pounds. When awakened to the world or a particular pain in it, humans become inevitably motivated to do something about it.

All of my fellow congress members, along with each of you reading this, and Slow Food members everywhere have become awake to the problem of our broken food system. You were not forced to this agenda but came to it on your own when you were ready, or had a personal experience. In order for true change to happen, others must also become aware of what we in the Slow Food movement know. Unfortunately you can no more force a philosophy on others than they could force a Big Mac on you. But when faced with passion and singularity of purpose, others cannot help but notice your energy and wonder where it comes from. So share your experience, let your passion shine as the light of the afternoon sun, so as to illuminate the path for others who WILL come when they are ready, one person at a time.