“Turn your cell phones off and put them away!”

“This dinner will take two hours to complete. You are here to sit around the table and enjoy the food and each other’s company.”

These words, spoken by Linda Nardella, director of dining services at the College of the Holy Cross, were met with raised eyebrows as the first group of 12 students (who were accustomed to grabbing a slice of pizza on the go) sat down at a table adorned with linen table cloths, napkins and Holy Cross’ best china to experience what has become one of the college’s most successful dining programs and most popular “green” initiative—Slow Food.

Developed by renowned food and wine writer Carlo Petrini in 1986 in response to the opening of fast-food franchises in Rome, Slow Food is a growing international movement dedicated to preserving and supporting traditional ways of growing, producing and preparing food. It’s about respecting and protecting the land, appreciating the people who care for it, and accepting the responsibility to live sustainable lifestyles, “Because,” as Petrini has famously said, “we all sit at the same table.” His words have become a mantra at Holy Cross.

As opposed to fast food and all it implies, Slow Food also emphasizes the value of sitting down, enjoying your meal with company and engaging in meaningful conversation about fundamental social, ethical and environmental questions—questions that are an integral part of the Holy Cross mission and its Jesuit tradition.

First offered to students in the fall of 2007 as an experiment, Slow Food dinners are now offered 10 times each semester to groups of 12 to 20 students. The events book up almost immediately, and the waiting list is growing. Peer educators, resident assistants, the Campus Activities Board, students from the Women’s and Gender Studies program and members of the Purple Key Society are among those who have enjoyed Slow Food dinners this year already.

As prepared by the chefs at Holy Cross, a Slow Food dinner is served in four courses, but the preparations begin weeks ahead of time. The process is set in motion with an initial meeting, facilitated by Chris Guittar, general manager of board operations, to gain an understanding of what each group wants out of their Slow Food experience. Then, Chef Tim Trachimowitz gets involved to create a unique menu of local ingredients and indigenous recipes.

The process of finding recipes and locating local sources of food is research intensive and time consuming, particularly in New England, where the number of family farms has decreased significantly in the last decade. Yet, it’s integral to the success of the program—as is the involvement of the chef.

On the night of each event, Trachimowitz, who received his culinary training at the New England Culinary Institute, thoroughly explains each course, educating participants on where the food was grown, and what ingredients and methods were used in preparing it. As an alum (class of ‘99), Trachimowitz has a unique understanding of how the Slow Food movement relates to Ignatian ideals, and he creates a truly interactive experience, in which students are fully immersed.

The College’s Slow Food dinner program has also been a hit with the local community. The Regional Environmental Council (REC), a Worcester-based organization that fosters clean energy, community gardening and environmental justice, recently held a successful Slow Food fundraiser on campus for the second year in a row. This year’s dinner raised $14,000, which will go toward the Regional Environmental Council of Central Massachusetts’ UGROW program, a network of more than 30 urban community gardens and 350 gardeners, and YouthGROW, a summer farm program for inner city youth that raises organic fruits and vegetables which are donated to food pantries.

Slow Food at Holy Cross is continually evolving. Dining Services is currently looking more closely at the sustainability of the Slow Food dinners to see how they can progress even more.

Whether students attend Slow Food dinners simply to enjoy a healthy meal, to spend time with friends, or to stimulate their minds, once they take a spoonful of creamy pumpkin bisque, a bite of fresh roasted turkey with cranberry stuffing, or a nibble of chocolate raspberry torte, they experience the holistic nature of food in a new way. And they leave with a newfound appreciation for the fact that “we all sit at the same table.”