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Today we are checking back in with Sustainable Together, a blog by Shelly Randall (our guest blogger at NWEI’s bi-annual conference last year). We also wanted to see what was going on in Port Townsend, WA several months after our sustainable food conference. Read on for a host of tips from Shelly on eating locally and affordably!
…When I launched Sustainable Together as a personal/professional endeavor, I made an ancillary pledge: to make food my main hobby.
I have other hobbies, many of which have fallen by the wayside as I raise a young child (pleasure reading, scrapbooking, kayaking, the list goes on!). Thankfully, I also enjoy cooking, baking, gardening, and shopping at farmers markets. At some point in my sustainable transition, I realized I wouldn’t be able to consistently feed my family seasonal, local, fresh, homemade meals unless I embraced sourcing and preparation of the food.
This takes time, so it helps if you enjoy it.
It also takes a financial commitment. We in the U.S. are conditioned to expect cheap food, year-round. But learning to shape your food budget around seasonal and local foods has many levels of benefits, both for your health and your community.
“With our food dollars, we create the future we want to have,” says Malcolm Dorn, co-owner of the new Chimacum Corner Farmstand, which proactively sources its offerings from local farmers and producers. “The dream is beautiful farmland, healthy people and a healthy habitat.”
Money tight? It helps if you follow the three simple rules the (Port Townsend) Food Co-op brochure lays out for “eating better on a budget”—with some of my own additions:
1) Eat food. (Not junk!) Avoid highly processed foods and consider the nutrient value of foods you ingest. (I found these handy charts of fruits and veggies with the highest nutrition for the least cost at the Sightline Daily blog).
2) Cook. Meal plan. Make it once and eat it twice or thrice (leftovers!). Prep your produce for longer life. Preserve the harvest bounty. Use a whole-foods cookbook. Share recipes, try new ones, get inspired!
3) Shop smart. Make a shopping list and stick to it. Buy produce in season. Definitely buy organic if it’s on the Dirty Dozen list. Buy direct from the farmer. Buy in bulk. Join a buying club. Special-order your regular buys for 15-20% discounts (a co-op member benefit). Shop sales. “Shop” from your garden, i.e., grow your own groceries. Shift your budget to spend less on luxury items and more on good food. Etc.!
I learned a lot about our county’s food system at the affordable food forum, and I was so impressed by the wealth of knowledge and experience represented by the seven panelists that I wanted to know what personal steps they had taken to eat local foods more affordably. So in the Q&A period, I asked each of them to share a tip. Here’s what they had to say.
Seth Rolland of Quimper Community Harvest (a gleaning network) said he picks “free food” from his neighbor’s apple tree and has built a rodent-proof box on his porch for outdoor storage of apples.
Malcolm Dorn of the Chimacum Corner Farmstand said he worked out a trade with a farmer to plant an extra row of pickling cukes for him. He harvested them himself and preserved them with a friend, resulting in a stockpile of one of his favorite foods: pickles!
Al Latham of the Jefferson LandWorks Collaborative said he built a greenhouse to extend his garden’s growing season. He claims six millimeters of plastic added 600 miles of latitude to this indoor climate!
Judy Alexander of Citizens for Local Food (for more, see cover story of Nov./Dec. 2011 Food Co-op newsletter) said she bakes her own bread every week. She’s still using the 100 pounds of wheat she received as her share for volunteering for two years with Jefferson County’s dryland wheat project.
Candice Cosler of the Farm-to-School Coalition said she increased her garden’s production by adding “loads of compost”–which boosts the food’s nutrient content as well.
Irene Marble, a dietician at Jefferson Healthcare (our rural hospital) said she grows her own winter squash and preps them for storage by dipping their shells in a bleach solution.
Brwyn Griffin of The Food Co-op said she simplified her diet to be plant-based with little to no processed foods.
My tip is to start my weekly grocery shopping at the farmers market. (I am fortunate that there are twoweekly farmers markets in my neighborhood that run April-December.) With fresh produce, local meat, eggs, and a few value-added goodies (cheese, salsa) in hand, I go home and meal-plan, creating a shopping list of necessities for the Food Co-op. This one-two punch works well for my family, and I miss it in the winter-time!
For the full blog post, click here.
Thanks to our friends at Practically Green for sharing this story about two friends (Randi and Janet) choosing an ‘eat local challenge’ in Boise, Idaho! Below is an excerpt from an interview posted on Practically Green’s blog:
Practically Green: How did you ever decide to do this?
Randi: Janet and I had lunch in early December. We got the idea to develop a personal challenge for 2012 and support each other. I’d just completed a class at Northwest Earth Institute called World of Health: Connecting People, Place, and Planet, so I was in a sustainable frame of mind… I wanted to do something to appreciate where food comes from, something that would be healthy for me, my family, and the environment. I was questioning excessive packaging and what really was available from local sources. I wanted to now begin to answer those questions, and better understand what was available organically, locally, especially this time of the year.
Janet: It’s one thing to eat local in Boise during the gardening season – and Randi and I both have vegetable gardens. But in the dead of winter? We decided to try it at an intense level for the month of January…
PG: Any a-Ha moments?
Randi: One tip, set aside time on Sunday afternoon and cook for the week. Potatoes, legumes, hearty soups and stews.
Janet: Before the January challenge, I didn’t really enjoy cooking or planning meals. When we initially discussed the challenge in December, my hands were sweating at the thought of doing this challenge. I knew I needed to develop healthier habits around food, but prioritizing the time and making it happen seemed like a big undertaking. But to my surprise, there are many local options to choose from in Idaho. The transition was much easier than I anticipated and I actually do enjoy planning meals and cooking now. I also find I’m not wasting food (at the end of the week) by adopting easy strategies and investing this time. These are habits I’m carrying forward past January.
Randi: I was amazed at how wonderful this was from a community perspective. Everyone at our local farmer’s markets was so helpful, supportive and interested in what Janet and I were doing. Not only was it eye-opening and fun to discover the variety of delicious local food sources, it was enriching to meet the people behind them all. These connections and relationships will be ongoing. The other thing “that’s next” for me is to learn how to can, freeze, and preserve all the bounty from my husband’s organic garden this summer and fall… so we can enjoy during the winter months next year.
Janet: My family drinks a lot of milk. I calculated: we consume an average of 140 or 150 gallons a year. I recycle the plastic jugs, but one of my goals in doing this challenge is to also reduce the amount I’m recycling and focus on “pre-cycling,” i.e., eliminate the demand on resources before I use them. I’ve transitioned to now local milk bottle exchange and I have completely eliminated the need to recycle the plastic. It was so easy to make the transition and it’s another outcome I’ll continue moving forward too…
Read more on the Practically Green Blog, where you can find tips on eating locally, and see a list of winter foods recipes.
Sierra Dall with Sustainable Cities Exchange is offering a free webinar on February 22, at 9:00 am Pacific time. The webinar is called “Improve Your Local Economy with a Sustainable Energy Plan,” and is aimed at helping municipalities create a sustainable energy plan. The webinar will also feature two case studies. You can find out more or register for the event at sustainablecitiesexchange.com/infowebinar or call Sierra at 303.554.1833.
One of NWEI’s long time volunteers, Betty Shelley, will be offering a “Reduce Your Waste, Reduce Your Impact” class beginning Tuesday February 7th – hosted at the NWEI office in Portland. Alarmingly, since 1900 the US population has tripled but use of materials has increased 17-fold (from David Wann’s Simple Prosperity). If you would like to reduce your waste and lessen your impact on the planet, this class is for you! Below is information from Betty regarding the class:
I will be offering my three-session “Reduce Your Waste, Reduce Your Impact” class this winter at the Northwest Earth Institute office beginning Tuesday, February 7th from 6:30 to 8:30pm. The class will deal with solid waste, aka garbage, but will also touch on reducing water, energy, and other resource use. The format is interactive with the goal of engaging participants through discussion and assignments to explore their actions and behaviors, and learn ways to make lasting changes. Learn my techniques and share your own.
*To sign up for the class, either email or call no later than January 31st. The number of participants needed is a minimum of eight and a maximum of twelve. The class will be cancelled if fewer than eight sign up. The $25 fee (cash only) is due in full at the first meeting.
Please share this with anyone you know who is interested in making a commitment to reducing their impact.
Betty Shelley 503-244-8044 greenhouseone@gmail.com
“It was great to talk to other people about their efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle. Just going to the class made me feel great and inspired to take more action.” Barbara
“Even knowing as much as I know, I still learned quite a bit that I take and use at home and in my business.” Lane’
“The activities and lecture portions were just short enough to keep people interested. The small tips had the best impact for me.” Jessica
Download the class flyer here: BettyShelleyWasteReductionClass
While searching for some ideas on how to have a more eco-friendly Thanksgiving this year, I came across this post just published this week on tips for a locally sourced holiday meal from Chef Bryant Terry, cookbook author and food justice activist. He’s written Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine and Grub: Ideas for an Urban Organic Kitchen, and is passionate about food, particularly the availability of food for all. Read on for a few tips:
Focus on locally-grown, seasonable produce
Eating locally and seasonally could mean your usual Thanksgiving recipes needs an update. Chef Bryant says, “Plan your Thanksgiving menu around local, seasonal and sustainable produce growing in your area, and create new family traditions — incorporating into your meal original recipes that celebrate your cultural foodways and use local produce and value-added food products.”
Visit the farmers market
Chef Bryant emphasizes that as consumers, we play a vital role in ensuring the survival of small farmers. “If you can’t harvest food from your home or community garden, buy fresh produce from a local farmers market or food co-op,” the sustainable chef suggests. “Check localharvest.org to find farmers markets, family farms and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area.”
Use the foods you have
Before you run to the grocery store for Thanksgiving ingredients, consider using what you have on-hand. “Even if it is hard to grow food where you live in November, it is typically easy to grow herbs in a kitchen windowsill,” recommends Chef Bryant. “Also, incorporate fruits and vegetables preserved from the summer and fall.”
Drink locally
“If you plan to serve alcoholic drinks, buy local (preferably organic) wine and beer,” encourages Chef Bryant. “In addition to supporting a healthier environment by minimizing fossil fuel use associated with shipping, supporting small businesses helps ensure communities thrive economically.” The chef also recommends serving homemade kombucha for teetotalers.
Go a’picking
Whether you do it before Thanksgiving or as part of the post-feast activities, Chef Bryant recommends planning an apple-picking trip with family and friends. If there are orchards nearby, then use your harvest to make locally-sourced holiday dishes. “Make homemade Apple-Cranberry Sauce using fresh cranberries and locally grown apples,” the chef adds. “You can even make hard apple cider or Cinnamon-Apple Jack Toddies from your bounty.”
Minimize food waste
Plan your Thanksgiving meal before rampantly buying ingredients to avoid throwing unused food away. In addition, Chef Bryant suggests getting the most out of the food you buy. “For example, if cooking pumpkins or other winter squash for your meal, roast the seeds — they can be eaten as a snack or used as a garnish for soups or stews,” he explains.
Ditch the disposable dinnerware
Though paper napkins and plastic dinnerware are convenient and require little clean-up, they also contribute to waste. “Instead, buy cloth napkins from a local flea market or even make your own,” says Chef Bryant. “Also, buy your plates, bowls and serving platters from local artisans. Besides adding unique dinnerware with unusual designs to your collection, you are putting money in the pockets of independent craftspeople.”
Share your Thanksgiving
Give thanks by giving others a reason for Thanksgiving. “In the spirit of Thanksgiving, share your bounty (both ingredients and finished dishes) with friends, family and community,” concludes Chef Bryant…
For the whole post, click here.
And, HAPPY THANKSGIVING from all of us at NWEI!
Firstly, for those of you who have come along for the journey of Oil and Our Lifestyles: A Month of Action, we thank you whole-heartedly. Today marks the close of a month dedicated to taking action– with oil and our lifestyles in mind. We’ve journeyed together exploring driving less, walking and biking more, alternative transportation options, carpooling, home energy use, unplugging appliances and getting more efficient, how to broaden our reach, cultivating community, plastics and food… WOW!
One thing that has emerged for me is how oil pervades almost every element of my life and choices. Every day there are points where I can influence the system– whether it is the food I eat, the transportation I take or the packaging I use or avoid. Another lesson for me is that while my own individual actions matter immensely, I can’t act in isolation if I want to see broad systemic change. I need to ‘broaden my reach,’ as NWEI staffer Lacy Cagle reminded us earlier in the month. I need to insert my feedback more often and I need to engage others as often as I can.
Today’s proposed action is: Reconnect with your commitment.
Similar to our action for Earth Day, today is about reminding yourself what it is you most care about and why it is so important to continue acting with Earth in mind. If you are like me, this month has hopefully given you some new ideas or shown you where you could be doing more. Hopefully it has reminded you of all the ways in which you can take action.
Today and over the weekend as April comes to a close, take a deep breath and look back on what new sustainable habits you have tried this month. What has resonated most with you? What do you want to take with you from this month? How can your commitment to sustainable lifestyle choices be strengthened going forward?
May your commitment to live lightly be strengthened today as we close our month of action. And again, we thank you for journeying with the Northwest Earth Institute as we continue to be the Change.
All this week, we’ve been focusing on reducing our use of plastics as part of our Oil and Our Lifestyles: A Month of Action.
We’ve talked about plastic bottles, those pesky plastic bags, and phthalates.
Well, today, we”re going to focus on reducing our packaging waste. According to EcoLife, containers and packaging make up over 30% of the average American’s trash bin, most of which is not recycled. And that packaging represents wasted resources such as petrochemicals, trees, chemicals, water as well as transport emissions – the heavier the product, the more greenhouse gas emissions emitted.
Here at NWEI, we focus on individual behavior change and small group learning through our discussion courses and in our EcoChallenge. So we’re challenging each of you to decrease the amount of plastic you use.
Today’s proposed action is: Consciously reduce the amount of products you buy that have excessive amounts of packaging.
How to reduce packaging waste
- Look for unpackaged consumer goods: Many companies have put in a lot of effort to reduce their packaging to zero. When the option is available, take it!
- Bring your own containers: Whether you’ll need a water refill while at the park or are looking for ways to take your restaurant leftovers home, you can reduce packaging waste by bringing your own reusable containers like glass water bottles, stainless steel coffee mugs, and collapsible food containers.
- Select products in refillable containers: Some personal care products and food items can be purchased in refillable containers like glass jars and reusable plastic bottles.
- Buy in bulk: Real bulk items are those in a single large container (refillable is even better) that holds many individual servings. Don’t confuse bulk with many individually-wrapped items bundled together in one large palette, though.
- Look for recycled packaging: Wrappers and boxes made from post-consumer recycled materials are definitely better than virgin-made packages, though this option should come only after you’ve looked for ways to reduce your packaging waste.
- Choose lightweight packaging: Minimal packaging is always the best and can significantly reduce the materials needed for packaging, the fuel needed to transport an item, and the energy needed to make it. Aluminum beer cans made with 12% less metal saved Coors 637 tons of aluminum.
- Seek out biodegradable packaging: This type of packaging is usually made of some sort of corn-based plastic that can be broken in a commercial composting facility (not your backyard compost pile) that reaches very high temperatures under just the right conditions.
**HERE’S THE BONUS ACTION OF THE DAY**
- Contact companies you support with your concerns: It’s not enough to merely avoid buying products with excessive amounts of packaging. As consumers, we need to communicate our decisions to companies in order to encourage them to significantly reduce the amount of packaging they use for their products.
This week, during our Oil and Our Lifestyles: A Month of Action, we’ve turned our focus to plastics.
Today, it’s all about the phthalates.
According to the Environmental Working Group, phthalates are a group of industrial chemicals used to make plastics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) more flexible or resilient. Phthalates are also used as solvents and are nearly ubiquitous in modern society, found in, among other things, toys, food packaging, hoses, raincoats, shower curtains, vinyl flooring, wall coverings, lubricants, adhesives, detergents, nail polish, hair spray and shampoo.
Phthalates are known as “endocrine disruptors” because they mimic the body’s hormones and have, in laboratory animal tests, been shown to cause reproductive and neurological damage.
Here at NWEI, we focus on individual behavior change and small group learning through our discussion courses and in our EcoChallenge. So we’re challenging each of you to decrease the amount of plastics in your daily life.
Today’s proposed action is: Make your house phthalate-free.
Do a thorough sweep of your house — from your children’s toys and cosmetics to food packaging and shampoo — to minimize the phthalates in your house.
Phthalates aren’t often listed in an ingredients section, so here are some ways to identify them in your home:
- Read the ingredients. According to the organization Pollution in People, you can identify phthalates in some products by their chemical names, or abbreviations:
- DBP (di-n-butyl phthalate) and DEP (diethyl phthalate) are often found in personal care products, including nail polishes, deodorants, perfumes and cologne, aftershave lotions, shampoos, hair gels and hand lotions. (BzBP, see below, is also in some personal care products.)
- DEHP (di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate or Bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate) is used in PVC plastics, including some medical devices.
- BzBP (benzylbutyl phthalate) is used in some flooring, car products and personal care products.
- DMP (dimethyl phthalate) is used in insect repellent and some plastics (as well as rocket propellant).
- Be wary of the term “fragrance,” which is used to denote a combination of compounds, possibly including phthalates.
- Choose plastics with the recycling code 1, 2 or 5. Recycling codes 3 and 7 are more likely to contain bisphenol A or phthalates.
This week, during our Oil and Our Lifestyles: A Month of Action, we’ve turned our focus to plastics.
Yesterday, we talked about the issues surrounding water bottles. Today, we’re focusing on plastic bags.
According to Environment Oregon, there are 100 million tons of plastic trash in the North Pacific concentrated by the ocean’s currents into a toxic soup 1000 miles off our coast where plastic outnumbers plankton 40-to-1. All this plastic pollution in our oceans poisons, strangles, starves, and suffocates millions of sea turtles, seabirds, whales, and fish every year.
For example, here in Oregon alone, we use 1.7 billion plastic checkout bags every year — that’s 500 per person! So many of those bags make their way into our ocean, onto our beaches, and into marine ecosystems. These bags are also notorious for clogging up the gears of recycling machines, creating constant mechanical problems at recycling stations.
Here at NWEI, we focus on individual behavior change and small group learning through our discussion courses and in our EcoChallenge. So we’re challenging each of you to decrease the amount of plastic you use.
Today’s proposed action is: Vow to always bring your own reusable shopping bag whenever you go shopping.
If you’re already doing this, give a reusable bag to a friend or neighbor to double your impact. My wife and I keep a few canvas bags in our car so that when we make those impromptu grocery shopping trips, we never have to use plastic bags.
Also, contact your local elected officials and urge them to ban the use of plastic bags in your community. Several states, including Oregon, are currently considering statewide bans on plastic bags. Make your voice heard!
During this week of Oil and Our Lifestyles: A Month of Action, we turn our focus to plastics.
Take a look around — many of the items that we eat, drink, or use in any way come packaged in petroleum plastic. This plastic material is often designed to last forever, yet is commonly used for products that we use just once and then throw away. The effects of this throwaway mentality can be readily witnessed in our landfills and at our beaches that are being overrun with plastic packaging.
As the organization 5 Gyres points out:
“The short-term convenience of using and throwing away plastic products carries a very inconvenient long-term truth. These plastic water bottles, cups, utensils, electronics, toys, and gadgets we dispose of daily are rarely recycled in a closed loop. We currently recover only 5% of the plastics we produce. What happens to the rest of it? Roughly 50% is buried in landfills, some is remade into durable goods, and much of it remains “unaccounted for”, lost in the environment where it ultimately washes out to sea.”
Here at NWEI, we focus on individual behavior change and small group learning through our discussion courses and in our EcoChallenge. So we’re challenging each of you to decrease the amount of plastic you use on a regular basis.
Today’s proposed action is: Reduce one piece of plastic that you use in your daily lives.
If you’re still using disposable water bottles, go get yourself a stainless steel water bottle. If you’ve got friends or family that are using water bottles once and then throwing them away, take this opportunity to talk to them about the long-term impacts of plastics.
Consider contacting your local elected officials and urge them to enact legislation that will decrease the amount of bottled water waste your community creates. This issue in particular is one in which individual communities can make a big difference, so contact your city council and county officials.
Today we continue our focus on transportation by looking at ways to broaden our reach. Individual behavior change is necessary and important in creating the world in which we want to live. Individual actions inspire, motivate, and change culture, especially when enough people work together to make a difference. Here at NWEI, we focus on individual behavior change and small group learning through our discussion courses and in our EcoChallenge.
But we also see the vital importance of working together to change our infrastructure, political systems, and broader cultural constructs, as well.
Today’s proposed action is: Broaden your reach.
Cars produce about 20 percent of U.S. carbon emissions and consume about 44 percent of the oil we use. Consider contacting your representative about implementing a fuel tax or raising the standards for fuel efficiency in your state. Environment America is working on some great campaigns aimed at getting America off oil.
Also, consider contacting your Congressperson and Department of Transportation and telling them of the merits of a U.S. Bicycle Route System, an interstate network of bicycle routes for national non-motorized transportation. You can find out more information here and see what’s going on in your state here.
For the weekend:
Enjoy non-motorized fun, for your health and for the health of the planet. Go for a bike ride, either to a destination you’ve already planned, or just for fun. Or take a hike and enjoy the weather your area has to offer in the spring. Take a picture celebrating your surroundings and how you got there. Send your pictures to contact@nwei.org, and we’ll post them on our blog!
So far in the Month of Action, we’ve examined home energy use and personal transportation. Today we turn our attention to our transportation of food.
Based upon a 2000 study by the Center for Sustainable Systems at University of Michigan, the average item of food in the U.S. travels around 1,500 miles to your table. By another estimate that includes transportation of inputs to farms and factories, typical food items travel up to 4,200 miles in their journey along the supply chain. Regardless of how and what you measure, the conclusion is clear: our food travels a long way to get to us these days.
Over three quarters of that second number above comes from inputs in the food production process. This means that in the carbon-calculating process, where your food producer gets his or her goods is three times as important as where you get your food. For example, buying beef from a local cattle farmer might actually be worse than buying beef from a thousand miles away if your local farmer gets her feed shipped from across the continent.
Production accounts for 45% of food’s carbon footprint, and shipping inputs and food transportation account for 29% of most food’s total carbon footprint. That means that the rest of your food’s carbon footprint comes from your driving to the store or restaurant to get it, as driving in a family vehicle is far less efficient than your food’s travel in a tightly-packed semi-truck.
So what should we do?
Today’s suggested action is: reduce your food’s carbon footprint.
Refrain from purchasing out of season food from far away; maybe limit yourself to one or two produce items from outside your region. Or start your own vegetable garden this weekend.
Purchase some panniers and start biking your groceries from the store. Or resolve to patronize your neighborhood grocer or farmer’s market.
Find out what “local” means to your local farmers, and encourage them to purchase supplies from local producers as well.
Buying local can result in fresher and tastier food, a healthy local economy, and reduced carbon emissions. But there’s no cookie-cutter approach to how to eat sustainably. Truly reducing your food’s carbon footprint requires an investment in your community and in understanding your local food system.
For more information, check out:
http://www.sustainabletable.org
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/marketing_files/food/food.htm
http://www.fastcompany.com/article/food-miles-debunked
Based on six years of intensive research on solutions to man-made global warming, Portland filmmaker Matt Briggs’ DEEP GREEN cuts through the clutter to bring new clarity to an increasingly urgent situation. Traveling the globe unearthing the best applications in energy efficiency, green building, low-carbon transportation, sustainable agriculture, forest restoration, renewable energy and smart grids, Briggs finds 
many promising ideas. Some are profoundly personal and practical—like what one person can do to lower the carbon load at home—others complex endeavors such as Southern California Edison’s quest to find the best batteries to electrify transportation. From France, Sweden and Germany to China, where the flourishing green industry has, as a percentage of its GDP, surpassed the US in green technology, the world is at work to find green solutions to one of the 21st century’s most important challenges.
Shows with: TREES (2010) and THE KRILL IS GONE (2010), two ecologically-minded, animated short films by Portland’s Bent Image Lab.
Filmmaker Matt Briggs will be in attendance.
The film will be showing at the Whitsell Auditorium (1219 SW Park Avenue, Portland) on Thursday July 1st at 7pm. Hope to see you there!
Anytime the NWEI Outreach Team receives a Priority envelope in the mail, we experience a feeling of dread, as it usually means one of our course book shipments were undeliverable. However, a few weeks ago, when we received such an envelope, it was thankfully a Menu for the Future book from a course participant who sent us back their book for us to reuse. We appreciate when folks occasionally do this, as it provides an opportunity to help a few more folks participate in the courses. However, when people outside of the Portland area ask if they can return their course book for reuse, we prefer to have them share the book with someone in their community, to help spread the courses further there and also save the book from being shipped again. However, this is not the only good way to reuse a course book…
5 Great Ways to Reuse an NWEI Course Book:
- Give it to someone else in your community who is interested in organizing a discussion group
- Give or send it to a politician to encourage more integration of sustainability in policy-making
- Donate it to your local library
- Give it to a local sustainability awareness nonprofit, PTA, or high school
- Compost it–your course books are printed on 100% recycled content paper with soy-based inks. Menu for the Future could literally help you start a garden!
We’d love to hear your ideas–submit your comments to us!
Ryan Harper
Deborah McNamara
Kerry Lyles
Mike Mercer
Lacy Cagle
Carolyn White
Rob Nathan
