Board Spotlight: Austin Becker
Austin joined the Slow Food Seattle Board in 2017 and served as co-chair from 2018-2020. Through his tireless efforts, he greatly expanded the chapter’s connections with local farmers and food artisans, and created an array of unique, educational food experiences for the community.
Austin was introduced to the Slow Food movement while studying agriculture at the University of Wisconsin. Shortly after graduation, he grew a small produce and livestock farm outside of Green Bay and was exposed to wholesale restaurant accounts in a town known for its love of rich foods. Austin relocated to Seattle and gained experience in the Seattle marketplace by working on behalf of 21 Acres to build the Puget Sound Food Hub, a farmer-owned coop.
While at the Hub, Austin noticed that some farms were flourishing while others faced disproportionate challenges. He launched Farmstand Local Foods to help establish a sustainable, equitable food system by connecting local farms to Seattle’s innovative chefs striving to make conscious food-sourcing decisions. Essentially, Farmstand bridges the gap between fields and kitchens.
We are grateful for Austin’s dedication and valuable contributions to our local foodways and the Slow Food movement. He is a hard worker, innovative, kind-hearted and his positive energy knows no bounds.
Interview with Austin
SFS: What is your earliest food memory?
AB: I distinctly remember eating pots of steamed blue crab with mountains of butter near the coast of Maryland on a trip to visit family when I was a youngster. The whole trip seemed to revolve around the succulent shellfish.
SFS: When did you first join Slow Food?
AB: I first got involved with Slow Food at the University of Wisconsin, where I participated in culturally-centric community meals. A chef or home cook from a certain region of the world would share their knowledge of cooking dishes traditional to their culture, and students would rotate donating their time to prep, cook, and clean to create an affordable and educational meal for fellow students and nearby residents.
SFS: Why did you join Slow Food? What drew you to the organization?
AB: A common bond between humans for the pleasures of food. Just one special eating experience can change even a gas station grazer to part-foodie! Slow Food has given me the opportunity to connect with others that are already drawn to the fascinating world of food as well as draw others in.
SFS: What is the most interesting or enjoyable food you've eaten either during a Slow Food event or at another time in your life?
AB: One of my now-favorite foods in the PNW is ikura, or smoked salmon roe.
SFS: What was your greatest accomplishment during your board term?
AB: It was a humbling experience to get to know Riley Starks of Lummi Island Wild and co-host several enthusiastic guests at his farm each October to make ikura from salmon eggs he harvested from the season's catch.
SFS: What was your favorite Slow Food event?
AB: I made a long-term connection with an oyster grower and now good friend at the Olympia oyster celebration at Seattle Culinary Academy, and of course Tuna Canning at Lisa Dupar Catering. Honorable mention includes salami making at The Shambles, the Scampagnata dinner series with Upper Left Catering/Osprey Bistro at Bella Luna Farms, Ikura smoking with Lummi Island Wild at Nettles Farm, Brix scale/refractometer training with John Rowley and Collins Family Farm, and the farm tour at Carnation Farms.
SFS: How do you live the tenets of Slow Food in your daily life?
AB: I spend much of my professional life connecting people with good food, and I am lucky to have access to a tremendous range of world class ingredients so I try to reach for the most sustainably grown/raised/fished/produced products possible. But let it be known, I am no purist. I have definitely been caught at drive-thrus or fried chicken joints on busy work days!