The holiday season is filled with all sorts of traditions. Many are family, a lot are social and or cultural, and there's one that thats seems universal, the New Year's Resolution. Once the clock strikes midnight, and the new year is born, it's a symbolic fresh start according to the calendar, and offers the opportunity to make some changes in your life. This year, why not consider renewing the culinary tradition of your region. Specifically in the USA, Slow Foods USA has a program called Renewing America's Food Traditions.

From Slow Foods USA's Web site;

Managed by Slow Food USA, RAFT is an alliance of food, farming, environmental and culinary advocates who have joined together to identify, restore and celebrate America’s biologically and culturally diverse food traditions through conservation, education, promotion and regional networking.



Founded in 2004, the RAFT Alliance brings food producers, chefs and consumers together to develop and promote conservation strategies, sustainable food production, and awareness of our country's unique and "at risk" foods and food traditions.



We aim to promote and ensure that the diverse foods and traditions unique to North America reaches our tables by means that make our families and communities healthier and our food system more diverse: ecologically, culturally and structurally. We focus on clusters of foods at risk that we feel we have a capacity to recover, using models of discovery, recovery and sustainability that may inspire others to do similar work.

Learn more about our current initiatives and join us in restoring and celebrating America’s diverse foods and food traditions!

It's an intriguing challenge. As part of this program they have pdf files available that detail regional culinary items that are at risk. Not every region of the country is included, however don't let that deter you. They have guidelines for becoming a Food Detective where you can help to document the status of endangered food in your area.

A starting point in finding foods in your area that are endangered is Slow Foods Arc of Taste USA which is here. Within the categories of the Arc of Taste USA you will find a link to Local Harvest, which has a list of producers in your area that might have the endangered foods available, and seed specialty companies that focus on specific endangered fruits and vegetables



Speaking of specialty seed, another option is grow the endangered fruits and vegetables in your garden, or if you have a farm, grown them there and house livestock on your farm. If you need to find seeds, there are seed sources such as Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Seed Savers Exchange, and Seeds of Change.

There is a saying about turning over a new leaf when you want to make a fresh start. Here's your opportunity to do so at the new year. Why not make that new leaf a regional endangered one?