Governing Principles and Conflict of Interest Policy for SFB Chapter Board & SFB Members

·       The Slow Food Buffalo Chapter Board must approve, by a majority vote, any individual acting as an official spokesperson of Slow Food Buffalo or Slow Food USA in the eight counties of WNY. Requests for a Slow Food spokesperson to appear or participate must be submitted to the Chapter Board a minimum of 30 days* prior to the event date.

· The Slow Food Buffalo Chapter Board must approve, by a majority vote, any sponsorship, partnership, or ‘seal of approval’ from Slow Food Buffalo for any event, press, product, person, place or idea. Requests for Slow Food Buffalo to participate in any of these capacities must be submitted to the Chapter Board a minimum of 30 days* prior to the event date.

· No member of Slow Food Buffalo may accept money, items of value, or other personal benefit in exchange for work done under the umbrella of Slow Food and its principles. All opportunities for such work should be presented to the Chapter Board a minimum of 30 days* prior to the event date, passed by a majority vote, and any fees for participation will be paid to Slow Food Buffalo.

· Any materials used by the Education Sub-Committee or any other member of Slow Food Buffalo to educate and inform the public or other members about Slow Food Buffalo must be approved, by the Chapter Board with a majority vote. All materials should be presented to the Chapter Board a minimum of 30 days* prior to the event date.

· Events orchestrated Slow Food Buffalo must include invitations to all current SFB members unless they are for the sole purpose of recruitment or are meetings of the Chapter Board. Additionally, each Slow Food Buffalo event (with exception of Chapter Board meetings) is required to have a formal educational component as outlined by Slow Food USA.

· The Slow Food Buffalo Chapter Board members are required, prior to attending any meetings of the regional or national branches of Slow Food USA, to formulate a series of questions and issues specific to our region and its interests, which they can address at said meeting. A re-cap of the meeting should be communicated in a timely and thorough manner to all SFB members.

· All communications which come directly from Slow Food USA to any member of the Chapter Board will be disseminated in a timely fashion to all other Chapter Board members.

· All Slow Food Buffalo business should be addressed at Chapter Board meetings. If the pre-arranged meeting time does not co-ordinate with the timeliness of the new business, than the issue should be addressed through the diligent use of group email which includes every Chapter Board member.

· The Slow Food Buffalo Chapter Board shall always act in a way that is kind, inclusive and encouraging toward the community and its members, past and present.

· Any violation, intentional or otherwise, by a member of Slow Food Buffalo or its Chapter Board, of the Guiding Principles and the Conflict of Interest Policy will be reviewed by the Chapter Board where a vote will be taken to determine if any course of action shall follow, including, but not surpassing, a recommendation from the SFB board to Slow Food USA for permanent expulsion from the organization.

* The term of 30 days may be shortened based on the type of opportunity and the benefit it offers to SFB. Such issues may be proposed and votes passed via email if the Chapter Board deems it necessary. Please address any matters of this nature to the Slow Food Buffalo Chapter Board.

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