When the Slow Food movement took root in Dallas in the spring of 2003, it was a group of nine friends gathered in the kitchen of fellow foodie Timothy Mullner, craving better-tasting foods to cook at home.

"We just started out just wanting to educate our palates," recalls Mark Monfrey, a founding member of Slow Food Dallas and the co-owner of Artisanal Beverage Co. "We'd try to identify local producers of grass-fed beef, free-range chickens and fresh organic eggs. Once you've had those things, you don't want to go back. But first you've got to source them."

Today, the Slow Food Dallas chapter (or "convivium," as it's officially called) has 160 active members, including some of Dallas' top chefs, artisanal food producers, farmers and community-supported agriculturists. It's affiliated with Slow Food USA, a still-young, 12,000-member grass-roots movement seeking to "unite the growing sustainable food movement and introduce thousands of people to food that is good, clean and fair."

Some 50,000 people are expected to participate in this country's first Slow Food Nation event, a gigantic "Woodstock of food" to be held over the long Labor Day weekend in San Francisco. With scheduled events taking place at the Civic Center, Fort Mason Center and beyond, San Franciscans can expect to see the Slow Food emblem – it's a snail, naturally – everywhere in their city next week.

Paula Lambert, Deep Ellum's pioneer cheesemaker, will be among a handful of Texans representing the Lone Star State at Slow Food Nation. A number of Texas wineries – including McPherson Cellars, Brennan Vineyards, Inwood Estates and Llano Estacado – also will have their products among the 207 American wines poured at Slow Food Nation's tastings, even if the winemakers themselves can't attend.

"We're trying to get as many Texas products there as possible," says Mr. Monfrey. "But it's not easy because of the distance and expense involved." Since part of Slow Food's mission considers "how much gasoline it took to get the food here," even the concept of such a massive gathering is a bit ironic.

Mr. Monfrey and Ms. Lambert expect that Californians will dominate Slow Food Nation's food and wine tastings and exhibits. That should be no surprise.

The Bay Area generally is regarded as the birthplace of the American locavore movement, which advocates buying food grown regionally, avoiding products shipped over long distances, and encouraging the use of sustainable farming methods by small local producers. The five-day Slow Food Nation event schedule includes field trips (dubbed "Slow Journeys") to Bay Area farms and vineyards, as well as group dinners at San Francisco restaurants noted for their use of local fish, meat and produce.

While the movement may have been born in the Bay Area, Slow Food Nation makes it clear that awareness of the locavore cause now has reached a national level.

At Slow Food Nation's food tastings, Ms. Lambert will show her Mozzarella Co.'s Blanca Bianca, a soft-textured cow's-milk cheese that is aged several months. She'll also be speaking Friday evening on a subject she knows well: "Making Cheese in Downtown Dallas."

Suzanne Fain of Houston is the Texas regional governor of Slow Food USA, and she's one of several Houstonians planning to attend Slow Food Nation, as well as Slow Food Dallas' Randy Romig and one El Paso member.

Slow Food USA, which is modeled after the 20-year-old Slow Food International, calls itself "a nonprofit, eco-gastronomic organization." Like its European counterpart, it has a political aspect, lobbying Congress to improve school-cafeteria food and joining with representatives of the agricultural industry to support legislation that would help small farmers.

Though Mr. Monfrey says many Dallas members are "more interested in the social networking that Slow Food provides," he acknowledges that the political side also plays an important part in the movement's mission. "If we don't take an active role in government and politics," he says, "these small farmers won't have a chance."

Guests are welcome to contact the local group about joining in at Slow Food Dallas events, Mr. Monfrey says. There is a small upcharge for participation by nonmembers at convivium tastings, seminars, dinners and book-club gatherings.For more information on the local, national and international Slow Food movements:

slowfooddallas.com: The Dallas convivium, or chapter, of Slow Food USA, with information on joining the group. The "Local Picks" section includes information on farmers markets, the best places to shop and dine for local flavor, and where to buy local meats and produce. The current leader of Slow Food Dallas is Jennifer Uygur. Contact Brian T. Cummings at 214-295-7463 or e-mail contact@slowfood dallas.org

slowfoodusa.org: The national organization, which has 170 chapters across the country.

slowfood.com: Slow Food International, based in Italy.

slowfoodnation.org: All about the Slow Food Nation event being held in San Francisco.

slowfoodblog.org: General discussion, on national and local levels, about the Slow Food movement.

• The Marketplace on Civic Center Plaza will be open to the public Friday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can see an urban victory garden, and they can shop at a huge California farmers market and an outdoor food-to-go bazaar. Free, filtered tap water will be available to all visitors, as Slow Food Nation is "a bottle-free event."

• Many scheduled Slow Food Nation events have sold out in advance.

Check http://tickets.slowfood nation.org/ to see which ticketed Slow Food Nation events are still available to the public.

Saturday and Sunday's "Taste Pavilions" at Fort Mason Center will provide a wide range of samplings of regional foods and wines from across America. Tickets are $45 to $65.

"Taste Workshop" tickets cost as little as $20, and subjects include raw-milk cheeses and the Lodi wine country.

• Tickets remain for a number of "Slow Food Dinner" events around the city, priced from $55 to $250 per person. The biggest dinner event: The "Victory Garden Celebration" at City Hall next Sunday at 5 p.m. features a meal prepared by Chez Panisse, and it's co-hosted by Alice Waters and Thomas Keller at $500 a plate. Proceeds go to fund Slow Food's garden education programs and grass-roots outreach for low-income neighborhoods.