Remember how your parents or other adults would admonish you as a child? Close your mouth when you eat. Chew your food!

How many of us grew up with an evening ritual of sitting down together, at one table, for a meal? In my family, this was a daily event. Dinner (or supper) typically happened at 5:30 to 6:00. My father was not fond of later dinners. Each of us had specific seats. Being a schoolteacher in the 60s and 70s, we as a family of six ate out only on special occasions. And a trip to Burger King, McDonalds, or Carrolls (remember them?) was a special outing. I grew up in the kitchen. My mother was comfortable allowing us to experiment and make messes. I learned to enjoy cooking, though as years pass I’ve moved away from it.

Then these corporations began metastasizing, and we became a nation of gobblers on the run. Many families stopped having a regular meal together. Women worked more outside the home at jobs, so packaged food became more popular. So many of us ate without tasting, gulping food in minutes flat…and getting indigestion.

There is a social movement afoot that attempts to reverse this trend. It’s known as the Slow Food movement. A number of countries also have organized around this, such as Germany, Italy (of course!), and the U.S.. The U.S. site states, Recognizing that the enjoyment of wholesome food is essential to the pursuit of happiness, Slow Food U.S.A. is an educational organization dedicated to stewardship of the land and ecologically sound food production; to the revival of the kitchen and the table as centers of pleasure, culture, and community; to the invigoration and proliferation of regional, seasonal culinary traditions; and to living a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life.

This week, take time to learn about the Slow Food movement.

• Experiment with culinary traditions in your family or locale, or new ones you’d like to try.
• Do a little research on organic food production, and how people are learning to manage the land for the benefit of all.
• Compare the cost/benefit (not just financial) of taking time to cook and prepare things from fresh ingredients in relation to using fast food, prepackaged items, or eating out.
• Think back to your upbringing and family traditions. Write about what food meant to your family, the role it plays now.
• Are you a party-thrower? Do you go all-out, have caterers? Or do you prefer potlucks? Have a potluck with a few friends.
• When you cook, slow down and experience the texture and color of the ingredients and utensils. Browse some recipes. Set the table nicely. Eat at a leisurely pace, allowing your tastebuds to fully connect with the essences of the food.

Whatever you explore, be sure to write about your findings, thoughts, feelings, in any form–a story, report, poem, list. It’s all good.