About us
Our story
Ozark Slow Food started simply as a few neighbors, a shared commitment, and a question: how do we grow a good, clean, local food culture right here in the Ozarks? Since 2007, we’ve worked to answer that by lifting up the people and ingredients that make this region distinct. We create opportunities for eaters to savor what grows here, connect with the hands that grow it and celebrate the pleasure of eating close to home.
Over the years, Ozark Slow Food has worked to bring more of that food into kitchens, markets, and public spaces across Northwest Arkansas. We’ve hosted events, produced local food guides, supported growers, and backed farm and community projects that make good food more visible and available. Our efforts respond to local needs, and that still guides us today.
What hasn’t changed is our core belief that good, clean, local food matters. It’s better tasting, better for our bodies, and better for the place we call home. Ozark Slow Food exists to help more people access that food, while honoring the producers, volunteers, chefs, and neighbors who’ve built this work and those who will carry it forward.
Leadership
Ozark Slow Food board members
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Jim Morgan
Round Mountain Farm
Jim was raised on a diversified family farm in Kansas and received graduate degrees in biology, combining practical and academic knowledge to help farmers and several non-profits improve the production of sustainable and organic food. Besides being the first meat vendor at the Fayetteville Farmers Market, Jim has been active with three national sheep associations and chaired a regional USDA Sustainable Agriculture Researched and Education Council. He has also served on the Board of FORGE for 32 years, an Ozark nonprofit that provides regional lending to farmers and small businesses. Jim has been an invited speaker on the genetics of sustainable sheep production in Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the USA and was a co-founder of Ozark Slow Food in 2007.
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Teresa Maurer
Fayetteville Farmers Market
Teresa has 40 years of experience in education, outreach and research on sustainable and organic farming and food systems. She worked for 5 years at the Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture (Oklahoma), for 20 years with the ATTRA National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (Fayetteville), and as manager for 12 years with the Fayetteville Farmers Market. Since 2023 she has managed the Fayetteville online farmers market. Teresa first became involved with Slow Food in 2004, when she was chosen as a US delegate to the worldwide gathering of farmers, chefs, and food activists in Italy. That experience led her to become a founding member of Ozark Slow Food in 2007.
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Pauline Rescorl
Seven Mornings Farm
In addition to her work producing vegetables, transplants, fruit, eggs, and value-added products on her farm, Pauline has decades of experience working with local food systems. She spent many years coordinating directly with area farmers and significantly increased sourcing of local produce by Ozark Natural Foods. Pauline also reviewed grants as a farmer producer representative on a southern regional agricultural committee, has served as a farmer advocate at both the state and national level, and has managed and sold at farmers markets in our area. Currently she works with the University of Arkansas Center for Farms and Food (CAFF).
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Marcy Benham
Board member since 2009
A local girl who grew up in NWA and is proud to be an Ozark Slow Food Board member since 2009. Marcy has over 10 years of experience in Natural channel retail, plus an additional 10 years in manufacturer support and marketing with supply chain understanding. She is a longtime supporter of local producers and a lover of the local foods movement.
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Ally Mrachek, MS, RD, SNS
Registered Dietitian
Ally is a Registered Dietitian and provides technical assistance to USDA Healthy Meals Incentive: Project SCALES (Supporting Community Agriculture & Local Education Systems) grantees developing partner-focused local procurement programs that serve more locally grown foods to local students in rural communities. Ally is a former School Nutrition Director with prior experience working in school nutrition research and technical assistance programming. She has over a decade of experience in school nutrition operations and all things farm-to-school. She launched her school food career with a one-year FoodCorps service term. Ally lives in Arkansas and is originally from rural Washington State, where she grew up on her family’s tree fruit farm, an experience that helped develop her love for seasonal foods and cooking. Ally has been an Ozark Slow Food board member since 2025.
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Adam Moore
Spring Creek Food Hub
Adam moved to Northwest Arkansas in 2020 specifically to learn from established organic farms and to help strengthen the local food system. He went on to gain additional training and farm experience and graduated from the University of Arkansas Center for Farms and Food (CAFF). His experience includes farm apprenticeship at Dripping Springs organic farm and management for Ozark All Seasons farm. Adam become Farmer Relations Manager for Spring Creek Food Hub in 2024 and joined the Ozark Slow Food board in 2026.
Want to get involved?
New members and new ideas are always welcome.