Volunteer Jessie Martin savours slow food

Slow food is the opposite of what you get at a fast food drive-through.

Why does Jessie advocate for slow food?

"It's healthier and we are more in touch with where our food is coming from," says Jessie, who cooked at The Reef on Main St for four years. Now she has left behind the hectic life of professional food preparation and is studying to become a veterinary assistant, but she still enjoys cooking on her own time - no doubt more slowly and peacefully than at work!

Jessie signed up participants at Britannia Community Centre today for the 2nd Annual Bike the Blossoms cycle tour organized by Slow Food Vancouver, the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, and the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition.

"This self-guided tour is fun for the whole family!" reads the Slow Food Vancouver website. "Enjoy a leisurely ride along boulevards of spring cherry blossoms, traveling through a diversity of neighbourhoods from the eastside to the westside, stopping at local community centres to meet local farmers, to sample local foods and refuel at slow food designated eateries, restaurants and cafes along the way."

Slow Food Vancouver is part of the International Slow Food Movement that has more than 80,000 members in 100 countries. Members get together (often at potluck dinners) to share their love of local flavours, traditions, and foods grown and created by local farmers and artisans.

The Commercial Drive Business Society partnered with Slow Food Vancouver to offer Slow Taste of the Drive to increase the level of engagement between local farmers and city folk. Selected eateries and restaurants on Commercial Drive offered a Slow Taste of their foods that fit the slow food criteria: good, clean, and fair.