Farm-fresh food for ALL: you can help this Friday

Check out Betty's interview with UVA student, Mark Parlette, and the inspiring work he has done in this community to help lower-income families gain access to fresh, local food called Charlottesville Community Food Project. The fundraising event is on Betty's event page: This Friday, December 5th, 6-8, Enoteca, (silent auction of local artist's work and pie sale!)

Betty: Tell me about your work with providing CSA shares to lower-income families in Charlottesville?

Mark: Well, during the growing season, the CCFP operates kind of like an emergency food bank-- we take calls a couple days a week during a designated hour-long period, and then have a pick-up period later in the day. The difference is, we work with the CSA system, so we don't actually hold or distribute the food ourselves. We coordinate donated shares (when people with CSA shares are out of town) and raise money to purchase shares, and then make these 'community shares' available to low-income members of our community. This past growing season we worked with Roundabout Farm and Ploughshare Community Farm and provided over 180 shares (each a box with a week's worth of produce.) People can read more about the specifics at our website: http://ccfp.wordpress.com/about It's been very moving to hear from people who are so appreciative of a box of vegetables, a food taken for granted and generally undervalued by most people.

Betty: What's going on this Friday, December 5th?

Mark: This Friday, we're holding our 1st annual silent auction, called Paintings and Pies with a Purpose. It's a silent auction of artwork (from local artists) and homemade pies, and the money raised will go towards purchasing community shares for the 09 growing season. It takes place Dec. 5th, from 6 - 8, at Enoteca, on the Downtown Mall. We hope a lot of people will come by, show their support, and enjoy the artwork, the company and the smell of fresh baked pies. And of course we hope for some active bidding, and for a lot of people to take home the beautiful (or tasty) works of art.

Betty: How did you get involved in this Mark?

Mark: I started volunteering as a driver (just 3 hours a month) at the Emergency Food Bank here in Cville, and it just got me thinking how people in need don't really have access to fresh, healthy food, and how that ends up compounding their health and economic problems. The EFB and other food banks and food pantries do a great service in keeping Charlottesville fed, but of course the one thing they can't provide is perishable food. There are some exceptions: for instance the EFB provides milk, and sometimes people bring in some produce from their garden; but in general they don't have the ability to store or distribute much perishable food. So I started trying to think up a way to make fresh produce available to people, to make sure that if they wanted to feed themselves and their families vegetables, they would be able to do it. Now, local produce is usually about the freshest you can get; it's often picked that day, or the day before. And when I started thinking about using local produce, I realized there were a couple other reasons why that would be a good idea.

First of all, when we spend money to buy local produce, we're supporting our local agriculture, our local economy, and the environment because of the sustainable practices of the local farmers we work with. We're also supporting the health of the recipient of the food, since the soil is better taken care of than on a industrial ag. farm, and the food is more recently picked. I think in general we (though Betty is an wonderful exception) don't give enough consideration to how the money we spend impacts the world. When we buy something, we give support, and a means to continue, to the people who made it and the process involved in making it. So I thought, even (or perhaps especially) a charitable organization ought to think about how the money it spends can have a positive impact, and not just how what they get for the money can have a positive impact.

Suffice it say, for these reasons and more, I thought that setting up an organization to make fresh, local produce available to people in need would be a wonderful idea; we could support the health of our community in many ways at once. I then set about getting the word out around UVA, and I found several wonderful people (thank you Lucy, Amanda, Elizabeth, Lynn, Weiwei, Mary, and everyone!) who have been working with me to make it possible. The Emergency Food Bank has also been wonderfully supportive-- we've distributed flyers through them (as well as other local food pantries) and serve many of the same families. Our greatest thanks of course go to Tony at Ploughshare Community Farm, for all the help he's given.

Betty: Great! If someone is interested in helping out more, what can they do and who can they contact?

Mark: They can just contact us at 434-202-0603 or cvillecfp@gmail.com and we'll be happy to work out a way, depending on their interest and the time they have available, for them to help out. And thank you, Betty, for helping get the word out on this event!

Mark Parlette from the CCFP and Better World Betty

Betty's version of Cyber Monday

Imagine my surprise this morning when I walked into Cville Coffee to catch up on work, when the smiling face of a CBS reporter asked me if I was going to participate in Cyber Monday. It was the first I had heard of it (I promise I don't live under a rock), but I quickly surmised that it was the online equivalent of Black Friday.

Oddly enough, item number five on my agenda: Write a blog about local vs online shopping.

"I think I'm the last person you want to talk to about this - I took a no-new-purchases pledge, so I won't be participating." Her ears perked up, "Well, I definitely want to talk to you!" So the bright lights of a news camera were shinning on me before I could even say "Better World Betty."

Online shopping may be convenient, as you avoid crowded malls and parking lots, but, my green friends, online shopping is not the Bettiest thing to do.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not eschewing the internet entirely. After all, Betty and the rest of the internet is a marvelous, modern-day, one-click resource connection to green living. It is the number one way I align my values with my lifestyle. Whether I'm looking up the latest environmental policies or searching for a green product alternative or looking up the environmental track record of certain brands, the internet is invaluable in my quest to be mindful.

So here are my suggestions/tips for on and off-line shopping this season:

*According the Organic Consumer's Association: Buying in-store is better because bulk shipping cuts down on fuel costs and emissions.

*Keeping your money here, rather than pay-palling it to a faraway place, allows your money to STAY in your community and feed the local economy.

*Mark Lorenzoni, local business owner of Ragged Moutain Running Shop, told me that is one of his pet peeves: people shopping on line in their living room instead of maintaining a personal relationship with their local vendors and supporting the people and businesses in their community.

*However, if your eco-friendly products (ex the snow boots my mom just purchased for my birthday) are not available in stores, I would recommend going online. But, next time you are in the local shoe store or retailer, mention that you would like to see more green products.

*If you want the convenience of online shopping, while shopping local, try www.retailrelay.com. Here you can online shop at numerous local stores in the morning, click and pay, and pick it up on your way home from work (they have a downtown location and a pantops location), saving on gas and emissions!

*Also keep it close to home by searching products at www.locallecctual.com

*Search for local artists who have home-made wares (clothing, jewelry, art, gifts) in virtual shops at www.etsy.com. This is one of my absolute favorite solutions for mindful gift-giving. You can even search by recycled materials.

Keep it local, keep it green with Betty's help!
BWB

The Christmas Wrap...

(This article appears in the December issue of Abode and can also be viewed at Abode)

Let’s face it. The holiday season can be Mother Earth’s worst nightmare, from the plastic toys made overseas to the copious amounts of paper products. This season Betty helps you think outside the holiday box with creative and green gift-wrapping ideas!

If you’re a saver like me, you have a head start. But don’t fret; it’s not too late to start saving all things paper and festive for next year including boxes and ribbons. Include reuse as a part of your family tradition.

My rule of thumb is to begin with what you have, i.e. nothing NEW, especially paper (otherwise known as dead trees). Scour the attic for last year’s boxes, your closet for shoe boxes, or the recycle bin for an appropriately-sized cardboard box. Otherwise, the local Salvation Army or thrift shop should have old tins or baskets.

As for wrapping paper: newspaper comics, old tissue paper, a cut-up paper grocery bag, even a scrap of cloth will work. Next collect odds and ends like old ribbon, feathers, twigs, string, shoe laces, magazines, tea bags, cinnamon sticks, leftover tissue paper, postcards, old maps, even game pieces. Don’t forget to forage in the great outdoors – holly bushes and rosemary twigs make great gift garnishes.

Now you have assembled your supplies, the fun part begins! With scissors, a hole punch, tape, glue gun (optional), and your collection of found objects, the gifts will become recycled works of art. With your imagination, the possibilities are limitless.

In-joy,
BWB

Better World Betty aims to be the number one resource for green living in our community. Check out all the many ways to act and buy local this season at www.betterworldbetty.com.

A Busy Week!

Last week made it official: Better World Betty is back! Most of you know I took a small hiatus from Betty this summer, having both my kids at home and this fall, spending time on the presidential campaign. But beginnning with a meeting of the Better World Betty advisory Board on November the 5th, it's full speed ahead! I hope to have the newsletter out within the week and if you're not on that, you should be. It's where you get the inside scoop on events, future blogs, and includes a personal challenge from Betty to you. (email betty@betterworldbetty.com to get on there ASAP)

Tuesday I met with Tom Frederick and Bruce Edmonds and my fellow citizens who serve on the Citizen's Advisory Committee for recycling (which still has a vacant spot open for a city resident, BY THE WAY! Hint, hint). I am averaging about four pages per meeting - lots of interesting recycling info there. Who knew that the wrapping surrounding reams of paper is NOT recyclable and jams the recycling machines, for instance?

Then Wednesday I met with Charlottesville Mayor Dave Norris about enjoyed gathering cool prizes given by generous area businesses and organizations for America Recycles Day at UVA! Feast! gave a t-shirt and reusable bag, Twice is Nice gave us a purse and tie, Rebecca's gave us a goodie bag filled with organic trail mix, etc, Blue Ridge Eco-Shop gave us Sigg water bottles exclaiming "You are what you drink - don't be plastic!", 1061 gave us new music sampler CDs, Integral Yoga gave us gift certificates, and Trees on Fire gave us a few of their fabulous CDs (the green room). THANK YOU - YOU ALL ARE FABULOUS!!

Thursday Bruce Edmonds, local recycling guru of McIntire Recycling fame, and I attended the all day event, America Recycles at UVA, joined by the Sierra Club, the Student Council Sustainability Committtee, Habitat for Humanity, the City, UVA Dining, and many others. We were all saddened by the weather, which nixed the ever-popular dumpster dive (especially since I spent the previous evening plastering Betty stickers on shoeboxes to be planted in said dumpsters so students could redeem prizes!). A dorm dumpster is emptied on the Lawn and students dive in finding recyclables, as a visual reminder and awareness-raising about the importance of recycling. Come spring, diving will happen, I trust!

I finished off the week by attending the wearable fashion show at St. Anne's Belfield, which was enjoyable, but not exactly as I expected. For obvious reasons I thought the dresses/outfits would be made of all recycled products, but this was more about creativity, imagination, and design and not necessarily environmental eyebrow-raising. I did love the music accompanied the student models: trash cans and chains and empty buckets were the percussion instruments.

Admist all the green happening my laptop had a technological malfunction (rather that than Betty having a wardrobe malfunction, I guess), so I apolgize for the delayed reporting.

It's good to be back!
BWB

The Better World Beagle Strikes Again!

Cross your fingers for me that the "bittering agent" in the bottle of "Earth Pet Training Aid" will stop our beagle puppy, Mugsy, from single-handedly chewing all of our rugs!

Perhaps she is just teaching us the Buddhist tenet of impermanence in all things (and who couldn't use a lesson in that), but I honestly don't think we can abide with having another rug ruined beyond repair!

These are not antique rugs or anything, but they do valiantly protect our hardwood floors from scratches induced by chair legs and lovingly warm our bare feet.

The remaining two rugs seemed to beckon me this morning to take action, as they lay waiting for their own unraveling.

So with hope and a healthy amount of skepticism, I purchased the aforementioned earth-friendly "training aid" from Paige at the Eco-Shop on Preston.

With any luck Mugsy will be entirely repulsed and fall into a deep sleep dreaming of Better World Bassetts or something, so I can get some work done around here!

BWB

Turning the tide on the e-waste tsunami!

Did you know that estimated 2.2 million tons of computer, televisions, and other electronic equipment are discarded into US landfills each year? The upcoming conversion of analog to digital will likely add to this e-waste tsunami. To avoid mercury, lead, and other known carcinogens contaminating our local ground water supply follow these easy e-tips from Better World Betty:

For businesses, Computer Recycling of Virginia will pick up all electronics for a fuel fee. After refurbishing, they donate equipment to schools and non-profits throughout Virginia, or sell them in their self-sustaining store in Harrisonburg. Icing on the cake: a no-landfill guarantee (check www.recycle4va.com or call 540-564-1990)

*Computers for Kids (www.computersforkids.net or call 817-1121), a local non-profit dedicated to mentoring disadvantaged kids, gladly accepts a variety of computer equipment (sorry no TVs) including laptops, desktops, and monitors. Note: both offer to properly wipe out your hard drive.

*AmVets will pick up TVs and other functioning electronics, transport, and sell to Richmond’s Fantastic Thrift store, then donate the money to Vietnam Veterans (call 1-800- 448-9870).

*Both Goodwill stores accept computers (no TVs).

If all else fails, Crutchfield will recycle for a nominal fee; however, after transporting, dismantling, recycling, and refurbishing, “some” parts may end up in a New Jersey landfill.

Two more computer recycling options: Staples will e-cycle for a $10 fee and at Office Depot you purchase the e-cycle box (sizes and prices from $5-$15) and they’ll do the rest.

Now those old electronics can stop collecting dust in your valuable storage space!

BWB

{Many companies have begun to offer free take-back programs, unfortunately Betty’s sleuthing found that none of the local big box companies participate.}

The day has come...

I hear much talk of nervousness and anxiety and what ifs leading into tomorrow, but I am excited. And filled with energy and hope. So I had to share this picture with you. The kids and I saw it on the way to recycling this morning (on Cherry Avenue, Charlottesville) and had our camera with us! I trust all you Better World Betty readers will make the decision you feel is right for our world, our planet tomorrow, which includes every man, woman, child, beast, butterfly, and daisy who lives and breathes on it.

Before you go:
The Board of Election rules are such that campaign material cannot be displayed within 40 feet of the polling place. That means clothing, pins and stickers. I do not want you to be inconvenienced by displaying campaign material and then having trouble entering the polling place. Be wise with your attire. (Or bring an article of clothing to cover up the campaign material when you enter the polling place). It's important everyone in every precinct in Albemarle County is able to vote.

The second is that the polls open at 6AM and close at 7 PM. If you are in line at 7 PM, you will be permitted to vote. Just stay in line. Bring a book or a magazine. Secondly, don't forget your picture identification like a drivers license or passport. You will need it.

It certainly will be an exciting day, and I hope your voting experience goes well.