We’re pleased to share a letter you may already have seen — but this is a message we don’t want anyone to miss. Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel has a resolution: to see our national membership grow to be over a million members strong. Please take a minute to read Josh’s letter. If you’re a member already, fantastic. But perhaps you have friends for whom a little nudge from you could be the difference in joining. And if you support our mission, but aren’t a member yet, read Josh’s letter and consider joining today.
(NOTE: This letter was originally written in part as a year-end fundraising appeal. We have lightly edited Josh’s letter to remove specific language about that, but the essential message is unchanged: membership and financial support are needed, and we are eager for your help.)
Dear Friends,
I wanted to share something with you – my new year’s resolution.
This year, I resolve to begin work to grow our movement by one million members in the next three years.
I know that sounds like a lot, but it is going to take at least a million of us to make food good, clean and fair for all. I’m committed to spend every ounce of energy I have working towards that goal.
Let me explain what your contribution will mean to the movement.
We know you’re committed to the values we share, but the reality is that without your financial support Slow Food USA can’t continue to make possible the inspiring work I see our volunteers do every single day. We want to be here in the years to come to make sure this work continues.
Hundreds of school gardens built, minds changed and food communities transformed, an historic school lunch bill signed into law – this is the work your support enables.
Here’s a snapshot a what we achieved together this year:
- 170,000 actions taken to see the first real increases to school lunch funding as part of our ‘Time for Lunch’ campaign, including petitions, phone calls and letters to Congress
- Your egg recall petition heard in Washington DC, with legislation passed making our food safer, while protecting small farmers
- Thousands of Slow Food members broke ground at gardens, farms, and community events, and then broke bread together to celebrate, at over 180 simultaneous ‘Dig Ins’ from coast to coast in September.
- We grew to a community of over 200,000 supporters in over 225 chapters nationwide.
Never before has our food system been so broken: one in three of our kids will develop diabetes; farmers are leaving their land every day. But never before have so many people stood shoulder to shoulder together, ready to do something about it. Parents, students, farmers, small business people, and others – folks from all walks of life – all mobilized to make change.
That’s what it will take to fix our food, and to get us there we need your support. Will your new year’s resolution be to help us make food good, clean and fair? Please give what you can today:
http://slowfoodusa.org/newyears
Thanks for helping me work towards my resolution,
Josh Viertel
President, Slow Food USAPS – I’ve resolved to grow this movement by a million members. What’s your resolution? Click here to make food good, clean and fair.
We’re inspired every day by Josh’s leadership. Want to see Josh in action? Watch his 2009 talk at The Feast conference.
UPDATE: That 2009 Feast talk is so 2009. Mark your calendars for February 12th — Josh is one of the speakers at TEDxManhattan 2011/”Changing the Way We Eat”. There will be viewing parties in Westchester, the details of which we’ll post closer to the date.
