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Ty Bro Ddyfi, 52 Heol Maengwyn, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 8DT, UK. phone: 01654 703965 e-mail: info@ecodyfi.org.uk

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Help conserve our environment and improve our quality of life

22/03/2007

Members of the new Dyfi Valley Slow Food group are holding a launch lunch at 1.30 on Thursday 12 April, to raise awareness about the Slow Food movement and promote locally produced food products.

Anyone with a keen interest in high quality local produce is being invited to get involved.

The group includes local producers Birchgrove Eggs of Trawscoed, Porth Farm Foods of Caersws and Machynlleth's Fresh and Local market stall, plus top Machynlleth food retailers Blasau Delicatessen, the Centre for Alternative Technology and the Wynnstay Hotel.

Food activists Dyfi Valley Seed Savers and the Mid Wales Food and Land Trust are involved, as is ecodyfi, the community regeneration company for the Dyfi Valley. Together they aim to work towards "Slow Food" status for the valley.

The Slow Food movement

The Slow Food movement began in Italy in the 1980s.

Its 80,000 world-wide members share a commitment to counteracting fast food. They promote local food traditions and excite people's interest in what we eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

Following the precedent of other international Slow Food movement groups, the Dyfi Valley members have formed a "convivium" for discussion. This aims to encourage lively conversation and convivial exchange on the subject of good, clean, fairly produced local food.

Convivium Leader Gareth Johns, who is the Managing Director and celebrity Head Chef of the Wynnstay said, "We want more food produced locally and more people to eat locally produced food. This will help people's health, traditional culture, biodiversity and the local economy - and, of course, give pleasure! We thought the best way to make it happen is to bring the key players together."

Gareth, together with Lavinia Vaughan of Porth Farm Foods, represented group members in Turin for the International Slow Food Conference earlier in the year.

The group's programme will consist primarily of informal lunch meetings at the Wynnstay and other restaurants throughout the year.

Producers wishing to bring a taste of their locally produced food to the Launch Lunch should contact Gareth at the Wynnstay on 01654 702941.

Other food lovers are very welcome to join the group at the launch - although it is absolutely essential that they book a place with the Wynnstay reception desk on 01654 702941.

To join the Dyfi Valley Slow Food Convivium, contact Cath Smith, Mid Wales Food and Land Trust, by phoning 01686 622388 or emailing Cath Smith.

Further information:

• Leader: Gareth Johns of the Wynnstay Hotel, Machynlleth, tel. 01654 702941.

• Cath Smith, Mid Wales Food and Land Trust, tel. 01686 622388.

• Slow Food Philosophy from www.slowfood.com:
  "We believe that everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible. Our movement is founded upon this concept of eco-gastronomy - a recognition of the strong connections between plate and planet.
  "Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. We believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.
  "We consider ourselves co-producers, not consumers, because by being informed about how our food is produced and actively supporting those who produce it, we become a part of and a partner in the production process."

• ecodyfi - Tel. 01654 703965 email: Andy Rowland:

ecodyfi is the local regeneration organisation for the Dyfi Valley. It is supported by the Welsh Assembly Government through Environment Wales and the Department for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks.