By admin 
Slow Food Sacramento, the local branch of the international food equity advocacy organization, has awarded UC Davis Health with the Snail of Approval badge. According to the organization’s website, the award “recognizes businesses that uphold Slow Food values and practices critical to resilient, diverse, and thriving food systems, including the uplifting of (their) community and (their) employees.”
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“I think UC Davis really is doing the whole good, clean, fair thing. They’re sourcing locally, making food for the entire hospital, including all the patients. I think what they’re doing is pretty awesome,” said Slow Food Sacramento co-director and treasurer Jodie Chavious.
According to a blog post on the UC Davis Health website, UC Davis Medical Center is just the fourth hospital to receive this recognition in the United States and the first hospital west of the state of New York.
The post goes on to say that UC Davis Health produces more than 6,500 meals each day, and that the hospital has increased its use of local and sustainable ingredients from 16% to 41% over the past decade.
In the post, executive chef and director of culinary operations and innovation at UC Davis Health, Santana Diaz, said “This recognition is a testament to our innovative food service model and the dedication of our team, whose focus on local sourcing, nutrition and exceptional taste helps support the health and well-being of our patients, staff and visitors.”
While the Snail of Approval badge is awarded by local chapters, awardees are recognized at the national level. Chapters evaluate businesses on their sourcing, environmental impact, cultural connection, community involvement, staff support and business values.
The award marks a new era for the local group, which is rebuilding after losing steam during the pandemic. Efforts to breathe new life into the activist organization began in advance of last year’s Terra Madre Americas, hosted by Visit Sacramento in collaboration with Slow Food International.
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The annual food-themed festival will alternate between Sacramento and Italy for the next eight years.
Slow Food Sacramento’s board has recently expanded by four participants to total nine members. Collectively they decide which businesses will receive the Snail of Approval badge, with an aim to have a more robust group for next year’s Terra Madre Americas.
In the interest of inclusivity, the Sacramento board is taking a somewhat more lenient approach to which businesses they will award, with an aim to help elevate them to a higher standard down the road.
“Some of the rules for Slow Food USA involve packaging for their to-go items, and for us, that eliminates a lot of ethnic restaurants. You go to these killer little mom-and-pop restaurants, that are owned by Hmong or Chinese or Mexican people, and that eliminates all of those restaurants. For us in Sacramento, that would be a disservice to being fair for all,” Chavious said.
For 2026, Slow Food Sacramento is already working on bestowing the Snail of Approval on a few other businesses, including Superette and The Rind, and they’re working on a list for 2027. The goal is to have a guide to Snail of Approval businesses that are walkable, bikeable or drivable for visiting attendees of Terra Madre Americas 2027.
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This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 6:00 AM.