Courtesy Photo / Tim McDiarmid
Tim McDiarmid gathers edible flowers for a dish.
McDiarmid will join 14 other chefs from across the country for a series of educational workshops on food systems at the local, state and federal levels. Attendees will learn more about their role in advancing the sustainable food movement and how they can improve food systems in their communities.
“Hundreds of applicants vied for 15 spots, and the foundation looked at cultural and geographical diversity to choose us," McDiarmid told the Current. "They asked a lot of questions about our prior community outreach and activism, and what we are passionate about. So, I'm completely going into this with eyes wide open, as a student. It's not like I have anything figured out. But as I transition a little bit in my life, food insecurity and hunger is something I really care about. And I just want to learn more.”
McDiarmid operates Tim the Girl Catering, The Good Kind restaurant and Southtown garden venue Ivy Hall.
The bootcamp, now in its 10th year, will include focused educational sessions on the expansion of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal aid program commonly referred to as food stamps. Earlier this year, around 3.4 million Texans received devastating cuts to their monthly SNAP benefits.
McDiarmid said the bootcamp offers an opportunity to advocate for her own farm-to-table philosophies and learn from other chefs and speakers about how she can help improve the San Antonio community.
“As chefs and creatives, it's very easy to become very idealistic, very pie in the sky, so this gives us the chance to learn from experts, professionals in these fields," she said. "Politics, I think, seem like this other world sometimes, right? So, for me personally, this is now about choosing what I think I can do and put my voice behind ... where I can actually be effective. I think you can spend your whole life being pissed off, thinking the system is so corrupt, or you can ask ‘Why can’t I make some kind of a difference?’”
Bootcamp sessions also will expand on education and support for BIPOC farmers, as well as other issues that will be addressed in this year's Farm Bill, a package of legislation that impacts farming livelihoods, including how food and what kinds of foods are grown in the U.S.
The bill covers programs ranging from crop insurance for farmers to training that supports sustainable farming practices, according to the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. It is typically revised and renewed every five years.
McDiarmid is no stranger to James Beard Foundation programs. In 2019, she was chosen as one of 20 business owners to take part in the inaugural JBF Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, an advanced educational and networking program for owners of brick-and-mortar food and beverage businesses in the United States.
She will attend the prestigious James Beard Foundation Bootcamp for Policy and Change May 21-23 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Coming soon: SA Current Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting San Antonio stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter
