What an incredible year 2024 was for Slow Food Denver! I am so grateful for the new and existing partnerships forged through and beyond our Seed to Plate program, Snail of Approval awardees, and FED Workshops. I am also incredibly thankful for our dedicated staff, talented instructors, and amazing supporters who donate their time and resources to help our nonprofit thrive.
We proudly launched our Food Ethos Denver (FED) Workshops, expanding our programming to reach the broader Denver community through engaging workshops, panel discussions, and hands-on classes. This new initiative has allowed us to develop innovative collaborations, welcome new community members, and create meaningful connections around good, clean, and fair food.
Some 2024 FED Workshop highlights include:
A bean-to-bar chocolate-making workshop at Ruby's Market with Anjuli Dharna, exploring transparent trade versus fair trade while crafting chocolate and cacao tea.
An enlightening Colorado wine experience led by Sommelier Logan Silbert, featuring blind tastings comparing local wines with global varieties, followed by an open tasting with Colorado winemakers.
A spring foraging walk through Denver's City Park with experts Kate Armstrong and Andy Conner, discovering edible treasures in our urban landscape.
A farm-to-table cooking workshop at Fleischer Family Farm, where chefs from Wyld Honeys and Allora Pizza taught participants to create shakshuka and pizza.
Our collaborative Gardening for Food Equity & the Earth event with Grow Local Colorado, featuring Barbara Masoner’s gardening expertise and a Seed to Plate-inspired brunch showcasing Palisade peaches.
A major highlight was our Film & Ferment event featuring fermentation experts Mara King and Sandor Katz, who shared fascinating films of their travels in China along with an inspiring Q&A session about all the ways and delights to ferment.
Our annual Farm Dinner exceeded expectations, featuring James Beard award winner Matt Vawter's culinary expertise and an exclusive VIP experience showcasing the collaboration of Wolf's Tailor & Haykin Family Cider, all hosted at the stunning MASA Seed Foundation farm.
At the end of September, our team attended Terra Madre in Italy, connecting with global food advocates and finally meeting Slow Food USA colleagues in person after countless virtual meetings.
Fall brought more enriching experiences, including a hog charcuterie class at River Bear American Meats featuring a MetaCarbon hog that was broken down by Andrew Grumpel as he explained the process of making different types of salami, prosciuttos, and more charcuterie goodness.
In November, we hosted the "Intersection of Food & Culture" panel discussion. Moderated by Slow Food Denver Advisory Board member Adrian Miller, the event featured distinguished members of our food movement, including Vanita Patel of Switch Gears Farm, Alberto Rodriguez of Dos Caras, Vivi Lemus of Convivio, Sashaline Nquyen of Tí Cafe, Asia Dorsey of Bones, Bugs, & Botany, and Ben Jacobs of Tocabe. The dialogue was a thought-provoking and heartfelt dive into what it means to create, cook, and guide our community through the joys and challenges of bringing authentic and culturally impactful food and cuisine to the Denver metro area.
We concluded our 2024 FED workshop series with a Conscious Consumer Guatemalan coffee tasting at Convivio Cafe, featuring one of our newest Snail of Approval awardees.
Throughout all of this year’s goodness was the continued development of our Snail of Approval award program. There are so many beautiful and intentional restaurants, farms, and food producers in the Denver metro area, with people who are walking the talk when it comes to changing our food system to be more sustainable and closer to the earth. To follow and support our Snail of Approval awardees, snag your very own Snail Trail dining passport.
Finally, we felt very lifted up as Colorado Gives Day proved to be another successful year, demonstrating our community's continued support and enthusiasm for our mission.
We are already dreaming up 2025, including repeating some of the best that 2024 had to offer while expanding into new possibilities, collaborations, and hopes for a more just and joyful food system.
Thank you for being an integral part of our community and helping us advocate for good, clean, and fair food for all! With gratitude and deep appreciation– may your 2025 be full of love, light, and deliciousness!