Author Activist to Speak at Benefit for SLU Educational Initiative, March 5th

Anna Lappé, an author and social activist on environmental issues, will speak at a dinner to raise funds for a hands-on Saint Louis University project that teaches elementary and middle school students about gardening, cooking and nutrition.

The fundraiser for the Garden to Table project will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, March 5 in Fresh Gatherings Cafe, which is located in the lower level of the Doisy College of Health Sciences building, 3437 Caroline Mall on Saint Louis University’s campus.

A gourmet dinner with locally grown food and locally produced wine will be served. Tickets are $50.

Fresh Gatherings is a sustainable restaurant that serves healthy meals made from locally produced food products and practices composting and recycling. It is operated by the department of nutrition and dietetics.

The department also is the lead partner on a project that taps into the talents of Saint Louis University nutrition and dietetics students to teach students at Humboldt and Sigel Schools that food doesn’t start out at the local grocery store. The students garden, cook and study about nutrition. The Missouri Botanical Garden is a partner on the educational initiative.

Lappé is the author of the bestselling “Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet,” which received the Nautilus Award for Social Change. Her second book, “Grub: Ideas for an Urban, Organic Kitchen,” was published last year.

Lappé encourages Americans to buy locally grown foods, support fair trade, and voice opinions to protect our planet. Lappé is co-founder of both the Small Planet Institute and the Small Planet Fund. She is a compelling public speaker, with past talks at schools such as Yale University and Brown University. To learn more about Lappé, visit http://www.smallplanetinstitute.org

Those who attend the dinner will receive a signed copy of “Grub,” which explores issues of social change and its impact on our food systems.

Lappé also will speak at a lunch earlier in the day, also at Fresh Gatherings. Tickets, which include the meal and talk, are $15. Both events are open to the public.

Tickets are available in advance by calling 314-977-8523 or at the door.

Slow Food St. Louis helped sponsor this event.