Terra Madre Day

December 10, 2018 – Terra Madre Day

Raise your fork to take part in the 14th Terra Madre Day

Terra Madre Day is a major Slow Food event, celebrating local food on a global scale. Every December, on the 10th thousands of people around the world organize parties and gatherings to celebrate good, clean and fair food: good quality and flavorsome; clean for our bodies, for animals and for the planet; fair for producers and consumers alike. Terra Madre Day brings together all who share the vision of a food system that supports local economies, that respects the environment, biodiversity, taste, and tradition. A better alternative is possible!

To protect our environment and to shine a light on the link between food and climate change, this year, Terra Madre Day is focused on Food for Change, Slow Food’s international fundraising campaign to highlight the role of food as a cause, victim, and potential solution to climate change.

Find out how you can get involved with the Terra Madre Day event nearest to you or organize your own! Set up a meeting or a debate, a picnic or a dinner, film screening, an eat-in, farm visits… anything you like!

Taking part is easy:

• SAVE THE DATE! Sign up to our Facebook event
• Find an event near you or set up your own!
• Download the toolkit of materials for your event
• On the 10th and the days that follow, share photos and communicate your experience on social media with the hashtags #FoodforChange #SlowFood #TMD2018

Event ideas

Terra Madre Day can be celebrated in an endless number of ways, from small gatherings to large events: a celebratory picnic or dinner, a film screening or concert to raise the profile of good, clean and fair food, an excursion to visit Terra Madre producers, food or taste education activities, a local gathering of producers, chefs, youth and others… or a combination of the above. Be creative!

Campaigns and Fundraising: This year’s focus is Food For Change!

Terra Madre Day is an excellent occasion to discuss and highlight the key principles of Slow Food and mitigating climate change through a wholesale shift in our approach to food and agriculture is one of the fundamental causes Slow Food is working on.

Slow Food’s new campaign Food For Change is the main focus of this year’s Terra Madre Day, which brings food to the center of climate change conversations and raises money for the climate-friendly work of Slow Food. We are calling on all our convivia around the world to take advantage of this day to spread the word about this campaign. Use the hashtags #FoodforChange #SlowFood to tag your posts and call for donations! Remember your help with modest donations can make a big difference.

Celebratory Communal Meal

Meals shared in schools or universities, restaurants, on farms and in public settings can bring the pleasure of good, clean and fair food to a wider audience! By inviting producers to attend, diners will expand their knowledge and appreciation of local food. These occasions also help us remember that food means enjoyment, culture and conviviality, and the act of eating can influence our values and attitude.

Excursion to Producers

From a train journey in the French Alps to a school excursion in Morocco, tours to carefully selected farms and producers from a specific region offer an excellent way of bringing consumers and producers together, providing an enjoyable hands-on educational experience, where people sample products and learn from producers.

Film and Cultural Events

Music, theatre, oral traditions and visual arts can all play a role in creating a critical awareness of food culture. For example, a cinema program that focuses on food-related issues, the agricultural and food industry’s repercussion on society and the environment, and our gastronomic heritage.

Thematic Activities

Dedicating an event to a specific food, issue or tradition can be a way to focus attention on something important to your community or convivium. In Uganda, an event focused on hunting down rare varieties of fruit and vegetables to protect biodiversity, while in Canada, participants celebrated their native blueberries at a local farmers’ market.

Food and Taste Education Activities

Food education activities take a wide range of approaches and can be organized for varied audiences: children and adults, teachers, farmers, members and the public. An activity may involve school gardens, guided tastings, providing a forum for a guest speaker or local producer, knowledge exchange between older generations and young people, or practical workshops.

Local Terra Madre Gatherings

Meetings between producers, cooks, researchers, young people and consumers provide an opportunity to strengthen the local good, clean and fair food network, to share information and present ideas for the future to the public and governments. Terra Madre producers could come together with your local Slow Food network in conferences, workshops, markets, or excursions.