CHEW meetings are free and open to the public. Unless otherwise noted in a program’s description, meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month at the Goodman Community Center, (Ironworks Building), 149 Waubesa St., Madison, Wisconsin. Got questions? Or want to get on our newsletter list? Email chewwisconsin@gmail.com
IT’S MEMBERSHIP TIME! TO RENEW OR JOIN PLEASE GO TO www.chewwisconsin.com/enthusiasts/membership.
COMING SOON
“Less Sweet But Still Flowing: Maple Syrup and Climate Change”
Wed., April 1 (no foolin’!), 7 pm, Goodman Community Center, 149 Waubesa St., Madison
Presented by Scott Hershberger
Maple syrup production is a Wisconsin tradition, and in 2025 the Badger State became the third-leading state by production volume. But climate change presents a variety of challenges to maple syrup producers. Join us to learn about how maple syrup is made; how changes like warmer winters, less winter snowpack, and more deer are affecting maple syrup production; and how producers are adapting their forest management and syrup-making practices to be resilient. Maple syrup provides a great example of a local food that can be produced in a way that is both environmentally and economically sustainable, even in the face of climate change.
Presenter Scott Hershberger is a science communicator who focuses on advancing local climate solutions. He is the Forestry Communications Specialist in the UW-Madison Extension Forestry & Wildlife Program. Scott and his colleagues empower family woodland owners to steward their forests sustainably. Scott’s writing has been published by Scientific American, TED-Ed, SciShow, and other outlets. Connect with Extension Forestry at go.wisc.edu/forestry and learn more about Scott at scott-hershberger.com.
ALSO COMING SOON
Wednesday, May 6, 7 pm – “American Bacon: A Food Phenomenon,” with presenter Mark A. Johnson, Goodman Community Center, 149 Waubesa St., Madison, WI
In his new book, American Bacon: The History of a Food Phenomenon, Mark A. Johnson asks (and answers) a seemingly simple question: How has bacon overcome centuries of religious prohibition, cultural contempt, and dietary advice to become a twenty-first-century culinary and cultural powerhouse? Through the stories of American bacon producers, like Wisconsin’s Nueske’s Applewood Smoked Meats, Johnson tells the story of bacon in the American gastroimagination. Since the 1930s, Nueske’s and others, like Benton’s Bacon in Tennessee, have continued to make bacon despite the Great Depression, the campaign against saturated fat, and the fear of chemicals like nitrates and nitrites. For Johnson, bacon’s story from “most dangerous food in the supermarket” to pop culture and gastronomic phenomenon reflects the cultural values of a nation.
MARK A. JOHNSON, from Milwaukee, earned a PhD in history from the University of Alabama. Previously, he earned an MA from the University of Maryland and BA from Purdue University. He currently teaches at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is the author of An Irresistible History of Alabama Barbecue: From Wood Pit to White Sauce and Rough Tactics: Black Performance in Political Spectacle, 1877-1932.
CHEW meetings feature invited speakers, lively discussions, and often food samplings or cooking demonstrations. See below for info about our newsletter, membership, traveling library and more.
Newsletter – To receive our email newsletter, send us a note at chewwisconsin@gmail.com.
Membership – For info about why and how to join CHEW, click here.
CHEW Library – One of the benefits of in-person CHEW meetings is access to CHEW’s traveling library. Our collection totals over 110 titles, ranging from James Beard award winner The Sioux’s Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen to the very drinkable Bottoms Up: A Toast to Wisconsin’s Historic Bars and Breweries. To peruse all the book titles in our library, click Culinary. You can put in an “order” for a specific book by emailing chewwisconsin@gmail.com. The book will be brought to the next in-person meeting (if it hasn’t already been checked out). Several titles will also be featured at each meeting–you’ll hear a short review and will have the opportunity to check one of the featured titles out for a month.
Facebook – We also invite you to join CHEW on Facebook, for fascinating food links, discussions and more: https://www.facebook.com/groups/chewwis/