Slow Food USA Will Hold National Congress in Louisville Next Month

A national non-profit has announced it plans to hold a major conference in Louisville next month. Slow Food USA picked the city because of the local support for sustainable food.The organization’s National Congress is a time when slow food leaders come together and set the organization’s direction for the next four years. The non-profit and its chapters focus on making food healthy and sustainable for people, workers and communities.President Josh Viertel says the organization has more than 1,500 leaders, and the group’s 225 chapters are in nearly every state.“Last year [leaders] they reached 150,000 children in schools, school gardens, school cafeterias to help them understand where food comes from, understand how to grow it, prepare it, share it,” he said.Viertel says there were lots of reasons to choose Louisville for this year’s Congress.“There’s amazing stuff that’s happening with the food culture there, whether it’s barbeque or bourbon,” he said. “There’s a sense that there’s kind of a return to slow foods values in what’s happening in a lot of the businesses and restaurants and farms in and around Louisville that we really want to reinforce.”And, the central location doesn’t hurt. Viertell expects about 150 slow foods leaders from around the country to attend. The Congress will be in Louisville from April 13-15. Parent organization Slow Food International previously considered also hosting its international congress in Louisville, but has since combined the congress with another event.