Island Grown Impact
By Jennifer Dunlap • Photos by Slow food whidbey Island
The downsides of fast food are pretty well known by now: empty calories, excessive fats and sugars, preservatives, and ingredients sourced from who knows where. The upside? Convenience, and, for some eaters, predictability. But if those qualities tend to define fast food, what are the qualities of slow food?
The Slow Food movement, which began in Italy during the 1980s, promotes the principles of local, fresh, and seasonal foods while encouraging people to return to the table for home-grown, homemade meals—and the human connections fostered by such fare. More than 40 years after its founding, the movement’s global focus includes supporting farms to create stronger, more secure food systems.
It’s only natural then that this emphasis on food systems should make its way to Whidbey Island, with its rich agricultural history. Rolling fields of wheat, rustic farm buildings, and herds of cattle dot the landscape. Traveling across the island, farm stands greet visitors with fresh eggs, delicious produce, and a connection to a more rural lifestyle.
That would explain why, in 2024, Slow Food Whidbey Island (SFWI) Board President Karen Meyer saw a natural and necessary connection between the Slow Food movement’s values and Whidbey Island’s unique ecosystem. As the board president of the largest Slow Food chapter in the United States, Meyer aimed to refine its focus to make a deeper impact in the island community.