Anna Gustafson
Slow Food UW volunteers have adopted novel ways, like this board game, to teach kids about healthy eating habits.
It’s a typical Wednesday evening for Slow Food UW volunteers in South Madison. Children enrolled in the Odyssey Explorers program are playing a board game while their parents attend classes in the UW Odyssey Project, a college humanities program for adults facing economic barriers.
But this isn’t an ordinary board game: Volunteers Anna Gustafson and Emily Miller have made their own “Veggieland” game (like Candyland, but with fruits and vegetables) that prompts these first through fifth graders to try a bite of fresh banana, broccoli, tomato, grape, blueberry or watermelon depending on where their game piece lands. Not only are the children trying unfamiliar foods; they are practicing basic table manners and working on managing their emotions about winning and losing.
Gustafson and Miller respond to statements like “If you make me eat a banana, I’m going to throw up” with gentle guidance in important life skills — speaking up for yourself and negotiating compromises.
Slow Food UW is part of a larger movement that began in 1986 when residents of Rome gathered to protest a McDonald’s franchise at the foot of the Spanish Steps. In 1989, Slow Food officially organized in Italy with a mission to revive interest in local foods and food traditions. Today the group has over 100,000 members across 150 countries. Slow Food USA has over 200 chapters, of which Slow Food UW is one.
Slow Food UW’s work in South Madison began in 2008. Faculty advisor Margaret Nellis had grown interested in supporting the South Madison Farmers’ Market and its farmer-manager, Robert Pierce.
“We asked, ‘What can Slow Food UW do to help you?’” says Nellis. Pierce replied, teach kids to cook.
Ten years later, about 20 Slow Food UW volunteer interns take part in this ongoing campus-community partnership that promotes mutual learning and inspiration that goes beyond teaching kids to cook.
Some interns lead a Garden Club where children learn about growing food. During the winter, the kids participate in educational activities related to gardening. Other Slow Food UW volunteers help with a weekly Teen Cooking Night at the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County on Taft Street. Volunteers in the Teen Snacks program at the Goodman South Madison Library prepare weekly snacks and a monthly meal, acting as mentors to participants in the other programs, focusing on healthy eating and general education. Other interns source and distribute market baskets to students with limited incomes. During the growing season, the baskets include produce purchased from the South Madison Farmers’ Market.
Delaney Gobster and Libby Schnepf are co-directors of Slow Food UW’s South Madison programs. Schnepf came to Slow Food UW in the second semester of her freshman year, “sick and tired of dining hall horrible over-salty not-fresh” food, she says. She happened on a Slow Food UW meal served on campus and soon began volunteering with the South Madison project.
“It appealed to me because of the way it addresses food justice issues,” says Schnepf, who is pursuing a degree in community and environmental sociology.
Currently, Slow Food UW is trying to evaluate the effectiveness of its South Madison programs, says Schnepf. “I see it as more than simply meeting a direct need — hunger. It’s more about building a community of trust around food. Given young kids’ diet today, so much processed food, whole fresh fruits and vegetables can be intimidating.”
Gobster, who studies environmental science and agronomy, has long been interested in “how we impact our environment and our culture.” She also has experience working with children, and wanted to combine those interests. “We’re helping kids understand why preparing food is something worth doing, versus buying McDonald’s french fries for a dollar — how [preparing food] improves not just their diet, but their role in the food system.”
