The month of January is typically a time for Slow Food Kansas City to sponsor a new membership drive.

But after Mike Hursey of Casa Somerset Bed & Breakfast and Jamie Milks of Everyday Organic Cookery served as delegates to the organization’s Terra Madre initiative, it was time to try a new tactic.

If Terra Madre (literally translated Mother Earth) was able to bring together 5,000 delegates from 130 countries to Turin, Italy, why not use the same spirit of networking to bring leaders of Kansas City’s food nonprofits together?

The potluck format does not require a joining fee, and there is no formal agenda. The mixer attracted an eclectic array of foodies — farmers, ranchers, food purveyors, chefs, restaurateurs, winery owners, food policy experts, nutritionists and consumers — to rub elbows and discuss pet projects.

“We want to be a resource,” Milks says. “We want to help make a food system that is healthy, just and tastes good.”

More get-togethers are planned for this year. Check slowfoodkc.org for dates.