Catherine Nardi
This first-person narrative details one ISI Florence alumna’s perspective on leveraging her experience as a short-term Italian resident during her semester abroad, to inform her professional work in regional food systems in the United States. Inspired by the Slow Food movement, the author discusses insights that have influenced a more interconnected, hyperlocal food system in her community in the US. This narrative focuses on the unique aspects of the Florentine– and greater Italian– food landscape, and the challenges and benefits of relying on seasonal and local products in the age of the globalized food industry and COVID-19…