Two years ago, a group of local food enthusiasts celebrated the revival of Slow Food Dallas-Fort Worth with a potluck dinner at the Dallas Farmers Market. The reborn chapter was off and running and in April of this year was looking forward to a local vineyard wine crawl.
Then, well, you know: The coronavirus pandemic happened.
“We put the brakes on everything we were working on,” says Amanda Vanhoozier, chair of the board of directors for Slow Food DFW and owner of Bishop Hill Farm Flowers, an urban flower farm in Coppell.
The switch was abrupt. First, the chapter became actively involved in helping the national Slow Food organization select local initiatives for its National Resilience Fund grants, funded in part by Dallas Whole Foods Markets. The five local recipients, among 23 that were selected across the nation, include Grow North Texas, Farmers Assisting Returning Military, the Oak Cliff Veggie Project, Heard That Foundation: Farm to Home and Good Local Markets.
But that wasn’t all. The Slow Food leadership team got feedback that younger participants weren’t interested in joining just to be a member. “They want to do something,” Vanhoozier says.
This dovetailed perfectly with the direction of the “new” organization. “We want to provide people a path to be part of the local food system,” Vanhoozier says. “We want to give people actionable steps.”
This has included starting the Tuesday Lunch Break, a series of weekly talks on up-to-the-moment, relatable topics that begin at noon each Tuesday on Facebook.
“These are not demos,” Vanhoozier says. “Not ‘Watch me bake a cake.’” Recent topics have included “Where Has All the Flour Gone?” with Stephanie Leichtle from Kuluntu Bakery and James Brown of Barton Springs Mill in Dripping Springs and “The State of Farmers Markets” with Casey Cutler from Good Local Markets, Charlie Blaylock from the Cowtown Farmers Market and Susie Marshall from Grow North Texas. Both are still available to watch on Facebook.
“The other thing,” Vanhoozier says, “is we’ve started collecting seeds because there is a seed shortage,” which she attributes to the uptick in interest in gardening this spring. Gardeners grow, harvest and share locally grown seeds, which are kept at the Dallas Public Library and can be “checked out” next growing season.
It’s all aligned with the “new” Slow Foods DFW.
“We are building a movement and creating buzz,” Vanhoozier says. “But we will still do potlucks when we can.”
Learn more at slowfooddfw.org and facebook.com/SlowFoodDFW/.
Farmers markets
Clearfork Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. 4801 Edwards Ranch Road, Fort Worth (The Trailhead at Clearfork). farmersmarket1848.com.
Coppell Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon, Saturdays. 768 W. Main St., off Bethel Road. 972-304-7043. coppellfarmersmarket.org.
Cowtown Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. 3821 Southwest Blvd., Fort Worth, under the tents in the parking lot of Texas Outdoors, on the Weatherford traffic circle (the confluence of U.S. 377, State Highway 183 and Camp Bowie). 817-763-0193. Facebook: Cowtown Farmers Market.
Dallas Farmers Market: The Shed, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. Closed Monday-Thursday. The Market food hall, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily (until 8 p.m. Fridays). 1010 S. Pearl Expressway. 214-664-9110. dallasfarmersmarket.org.
Denton Community Market: 9 a.m. to noon Saturdays, starting May 23. 317 W. Mulberry St. dentoncommunitymarket.com.
Edens Organic Garden Center and CSA Farm: Market days, 9 a.m. to noon first, third and fifth Saturdays through December. 4710 Pioneer Road, Balch Springs. edensorganicfarm.com.
Farmers Branch Market: 8 a.m. to noon, Saturdays. The Grove at Mustang Crossing, 12700 Denton Drive, Farmers Branch. farmersbranchmarket.com.
Farmers Market of Grapevine: Year-round store: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. 520 S. Main. farmersmarketofgrapevine.com.
Four Seasons Market-Carrollton: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. 2722 N. Josey Lane. fourseasonsmarkets.com.
Four Seasons Market-Colleyville: 3 to 7 p.m. Thursdays. 100 Main St., Colleyville. fourseasonsmarkets.com.
Four Seasons Market-Flower Mound: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. 1500 Cross Timbers Road. fourseasonsmarkets.com.
Four Seasons Market–MacArthur Park: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. 7701 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving. fourseasonsmarkets.com.
Four Seasons Market-Richardson: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Dal-Rich Towne Square, 101 S. Coit Road. fourseasonsmarkets.com.
Frisco Fresh Market: Outdoor market 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. Main Street at Frisco Street, adjacent to the east side parking lot of Toyota Stadium, Frisco. friscofreshmarket.com.
Frisco Rotary Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Note new location: Frisco Square, 6048 Frisco Blvd. friscorotaryfarmersmarket.com.
Georgia’s Farmers Market: Open daily. 916 15th St., Plano. 972-516-4765. Facebook: Georgia’s Farmers Market.
Grand Prairie Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. The 2020 season begins June 20. Market Square, 121 W. Main St. gptx.org.
Historic McKinney Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon, Saturdays and 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesdays. Chestnut Square Historic Village, 315 S. Chestnut St., McKinney. 972-562-8790. Facebook: Historic McKinney Farmers Market.
Lakewood Village Farmers Market: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. Mockingbird at Abrams, Dallas. goodlocalmarkets.org.
Lola’s Local Market: Noon to 6 p.m. Fridays, noon to 4 p.m., Saturdays-Sundays. Home of Lola the Pig. 1771 Kever Main (off State Highway 5), Melissa. Facebook: Lola’s Local Market.
Luscombe Farm Market: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. every second and fourth Sunday. 8649 Luscombe Farm Drive, Anna. 214-212-0814. luscombefarm.com.
Mesquite Marketplace: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every second and fourth Saturday. Heritage Square, 150 W. Main St. themarketplacedfw.com.
Railcar Farmers Market of Van Alstyne: 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays. Main Street at Cooper, Van Alstyne. Facebook: Railcar Farmers Market of Van Alstyne.
Ridgmar Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays. 900 State Highway 183 N. (across from Ridgmar Mall), Fort Worth. 817-246-7525.
Rockwall Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon, Saturdays. 101 Rusk St., historic downtown Rockwall square. rockwallfarmersmarket.org.
St. Michael’s Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. North parking lot, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, 8011 Douglas Ave., Dallas. saintmichaelsmarket.com.
West Plano Farmers Market: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. Corner of Plano Parkway and Chapel Hill. The Shops at Willow Bend, 6121 W. Park Blvd. Facebook: Red Tent Markets.
White Rock Farmers Market: 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. Lake Pointe Church, 9150 Garland Road, Dallas. goodlocalmarkets.org.