My budding food activism

As a student, my time is partitioned out in multiple directions,

sometimes simultaneously. Getting a job means even less free time.

 Despite not having enough hours in the day, I want to connect with the food scene here in Madison in some meaningful way. I see it as a part of my continuing education in all things food. Starting a food-oriented Facebook group was just the start. I'm looking at two other groups to get involved with this year: Slow Food UW and F.H. King Student Farm.

Both of these groups are student organizations within the UW. Slow Food UW is a student run extension of the Slow Food movement with an emphasis on educating fellow students, creating a relationship between local farms and the university, and redirecting university food service resources towards more local and sustainable food purchasing practices. F.H.King Student Farm is pretty self-explanatory: they have a two acre plot on campus and a greenhouse they use to grow crops.

Both organizations have internships that I could apply for. F.H. King would be during the growing season only. Slow Food UW is year around and has several different internships to choose from. I'm not sure what direction I want to take just yet, but I do have a rather grandiose idea for the Slow Food folks...they should open up a food cart!

Tomorrow's post will explain why this idea came to me, after reading about someone's Master's thesis. Stay tuned!

I got a J-O-B!!!!!!

Is it food related?

Of course it's food related! Keep reading!

I like to pretend that I have this massive audience that isn't a majority of my Facebook friends and doesn't know too many of the particulars about me and my daily life. But, perhaps someday I will have a legitimate "readership" who requires some of the more mundane details for contextual purposes.

I can dream, can't I?

For those few of you that don't know, I'm an adult student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studying anthropology. My main area of focus is food, it's social and cultural relevance, and the like. I needed a part time job and I found one this week. I'll be working in the production area at the Babcock Hall Dairy Plant, which is part of the Food Science Department here at the UW. Now, I'm not a Food or Agricultural Science major, I'm less interested in the biology of food than I am the cultural aspects of it, but I am interested in how food is produced. As a student employee, I could be helping in several areas: milk bottling, ice cream making, cheese making, and delivery of said products. I am most interested in making cheese. I've always wanted to learn how. I'd be working with a guy by the name of Gary Grossen. He's the UW's master cheesemaker, 20+ years of experience, and he wins awards for his Gouda cheeses, including the Cheese and Butter Grand Champion at the World Dairy Expo in 2011.

All in all, I'm pretty excited. Tomorrow, I'll talk about something else I'm considering getting involved with that is food related...and another idea that borders the line between workable idea and delusion of grandeur!