Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen is the second largest soup kitchen in the country, but they provide their guests with so much more than food. Listen as their guests describe the vast array of services and how they have helped them get back on their feet.
Produced by - On the Leesh Productions
Featuring: Rev. Glenn Chalmers, Barbara, Joseph, David, Jay, Gerard, Norman, Patricia, Samuel, Juanita, Elizabeth, and Guests of Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen
Directed by: Alicia Arinella
Shot by: Amanda Blohm, James McGann and Alicia Arinella
Edited by: Amanda Blohm and Alicia Arinella
Music by: Buick Audra
What You Can Do Logo Created by: SCG Siddharth Creative Group
Special Thanks: Yvonne Cassidy, Jordan Rubenstein, Rev.Glenn Chalmers, Barbara, Joseph, Jay, David, Gerard, Norman, Patricia, Samuel, Juanita, Elizabeth, and everyone at Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, and Dennis Arinella
For more information on What You Can Do, please visit:
Facebook - www.Facebook.com/whatyoucando
Twitter - www.Twitter.com/whatyoucando
Website - www.whatyoucando.com
Blog - www.whatyoucandoseries.blogspot.com
Vlog - www.youtube.com/unstoppableminute.com
Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/1minette
For more information on On the Leesh Productions, please visit:
Website - http://www.ontheleesh.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ontheleesh
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/ontheleesh
Blog - http://www.ontheleesh.blogspot.com
For more information on Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, please visit -
Website - www.holyapostlessoupkitchen.org
Facebook - www.facebook.com/holyapostlessoupkitchen
Follow them on Twitter - www.twitter.com/HolyApostelsNYC
For more information Buick Audra, please visit:
Facebook - www.facebook.com/buickaudramusic
Twitter - www.twitter.com/buickaudra
Instagram - www.instagram.com/buickaudra
Website - www.buickaudra.com
Showing posts with label be the change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label be the change. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Friday, December 6, 2013
Spotlight on Hunger: WYCD Interviews the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, in Trenton New Jersey.
This holiday season, What You Can Do is teaming up with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen to help raise awareness and fight hunger in New York City. As 1 in every 5 New Yorkers face hunger, Holy Apostles plays a crucial role in providing food, support and hope to people in need.
The What You Can Do team is based in New York, so we have the opportunity to collaborate with many organizations inspiring change throughout our city. Since fans watch What You Can Do from around the world, we thought this holiday season would be a good time to highlight different perspectives on hunger. More than 49 million Americans face hunger today, with over 15 million of that number being children.
We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their communities etc.
We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their communities etc.
Our fifth spotlight is on the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, a hunger relief organization based out of Trenton, New Jersey.
An interview with Dennis Micai, Executive Director for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen.
WYCD: Please tell us a little about your organization
and the community that you serve.
TASK has been meeting the needs of the hungry in the Greater Trenton, NJ area for more than 30 years. We provided 210,000 meals over the past year. In addition to our main site at 72 1/2 Escher Street, we have six satellite sites - 3 in Trenton, 2 in Hightstown and 1 in Princeton. In addition to our meal programs, we have an Adult Education Program, two arts programs (A-Team with traditional artists and SHARE with performing artists, writers, and musicians), a fully equipped computer lab, an on site social worker and various programs throughout the year for children. More details may be found on our website: www.trentonsoupkitchen.org.
TASK has been meeting the needs of the hungry in the Greater Trenton, NJ area for more than 30 years. We provided 210,000 meals over the past year. In addition to our main site at 72 1/2 Escher Street, we have six satellite sites - 3 in Trenton, 2 in Hightstown and 1 in Princeton. In addition to our meal programs, we have an Adult Education Program, two arts programs (A-Team with traditional artists and SHARE with performing artists, writers, and musicians), a fully equipped computer lab, an on site social worker and various programs throughout the year for children. More details may be found on our website: www.trentonsoupkitchen.org.
WYCD: How long have you been in operation?
TASK has been in operation since 1981.
WYCD: If you offer a variety of services, which ones are the most popular and why do you think that is?
Obviously, our most popular program is our feeding program. However, the AEP and Arts Programs are also hugely popular.
WYCD: Have the overall numbers of visitors changed in the last
few years?
Our meal counts have consistently risen over the past several years to an all-time record of 210,000 (8% increase over prior year) in the FY year ended June 30.
WYCD: Has the demographic of your visitors changed over the last
several years?
(Are you seeing an increase in certain age groups, races, economic status, genders or the marital status of people needing your services?)
Our demographic has changed. We see more seniors, more young families, less homeless people (as there has been a concerted effort in Mercer County to house the homeless). In addition, we have seen more young males from outside the Trenton area coming to the city for services.
WYCD: What are the most prevalent issues in your community, and do you feel that this reflects the current trends around the region?
The most significant issue in Trenton is safety. Crime has increased since the layoff of more than 100 police officers due to budget cuts. In addition, a poor school system, lack of jobs, and unaffordable housing continue to be major issues.
WYCD: If you have volunteers, are you finding more people involved in helping out, and does it fluctuate throughout the year?
Our volunteer base remains stable at approximately 3,500 per year.
WYCD: Do you have special requests for the types of food/meals
that you provide?
We encourage people to donate money instead of food. Since we are members of the local food bank, we can purchase food at 15% of retail, therefore we can access 7 times the amount of food that someone purchasing at retail could. We are also always in need of personal hygiene products that we distribute to our patrons.
WYCD: What are easy ways that your community can help out your organization even if they only have one minute of time to give? What if they have one hour to give?
If time is limited to 1 hour or less, the best way to help is to make a financial donation. We also always appreciate those that join us in advocating for the needs of the hungry.
We want to send many thanks to Dennis and his team at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen for sharing their insight on hunger in the Greater Trenton area with us. As we strive to end hunger as a nation, they help show us how cities across the U.S. are making a difference in their communities. By finding ways to take action, one minute at a time, we can help erase hunger in our neighborhoods and even around the world.
If you want to learn more about their work, you can visit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen website at:
http://www.trentonsoupkitchen.org
@TASKsoupkitchen
If you want to learn more about Holy Apostles in New York City, you can visit their website at:
http://www.holyapostlesnyc.org
@holyapostlesNYC
To join What You Can Do in the mission to help change the world, one minute at a time,
please visit us at:
www.facebook.com/whatyoucando
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Spotlight on Hunger: WYCD Interviews the Ottawa Food Bank, in Ontario Canada.
This holiday season, What You Can Do is teaming up with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen to help raise awareness and fight hunger in New York City. As 1 in every 5 New Yorkers face hunger, Holy Apostles plays a crucial role in providing food, support and hope to people in need.
The What You Can Do team is based in New York, so we have the opportunity to collaborate with many organizations inspiring change throughout our city. Since fans watch What You Can Do from around the world, we thought this holiday season would be a good time to highlight different perspectives on hunger. More than 49 million Americans face hunger today, with over 15 million of that number being children.
We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their communities etc.
We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their communities etc.
Our fourth spotlight is on the Ottawa Food Bank, a hunger relief organization based out of Ottawa, Ontario in Canada.
An interview with Samantha Ingram, Communications Coordinator for the Ottawa Food Bank.
WYCD: Please tell us a little about your organization
and the community that you serve.
The Ottawa Food Bank is the central warehouse and distribution centre that fundraises and food raises to provide food for 140 community food banks through the Ottawa community. Through those community food banks we feed, on average, 48,000 people per month – 37 per cent of whom are children.
The community food banks range from large downtown shelters to small church basement food banks. They also range from grocery hamper programs to soup kitchen type formats.
The community food banks range from large downtown shelters to small church basement food banks. They also range from grocery hamper programs to soup kitchen type formats.
WYCD: How long have you been in operation?
The Ottawa Food Bank began in May of 1984. This coming year is our 30th anniversary. It’s bittersweet that we’ve been around this long – when food banks first began, it was believed they would only have to be a temporary measure. 30 years later, the need for food support is higher than ever, and it appears to continue to rise.
WYCD: What types of services do you provide to your community?
WYCD: What types of services do you provide to your community?
The Ottawa Food Bank’s service is food (and other grocery products). We provide food to those in need in our community. We do have a number of programs within this to ensure people receive what they need.
- Our Community Harvest program is our main source of fruits and vegetables. We partner with local farmers who donate their produce or their land, and we help with the harvest.
- Our KickStart and After 4 program is how we get food to school aged children in schools during the school year, or through summer day camps when school is out of session.
- Food Aid is our program to provide ground beef to people. We are one of two food banks in Canada who offer this. We fundraise so we can purchase local beef.
- Our Baby Supply Cupboard is our program where we ensure we have the necessary supplies (diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, etc) for mothers and fathers who need a helping hand.
For more programs, please take a look at our website.
WYCD: Have the overall numbers of visitors changed in the last
few years?
I’m unsure of the 2013 numbers, but in 2012 the need for food support in Ottawa went up approximately 5 per cent.
WYCD: Has the demographic of your visitors changed over the last
several years?
(Are you seeing an increase in certain age groups, races, economic status, genders or the marital status of people needing your services?)
Our largest demographic is single-parent families and the working poor. This has been our largest demographic for quite a while. These people try their very hardest, but at the end of the month it is difficult to stretch their pay cheque. Once all the bills are paid, groceries tend to be put on the back burner. The Ottawa Food Bank is here to help them make ends meet when they fall on hard times.
WYCD: What are the most prevalent issues in your community, and do you feel that this reflects the current trends around the region?
WYCD: What are the most prevalent issues in your community, and do you feel that this reflects the current trends around the region?
The need for food support in Ottawa does reflect that of the country. Food Banks Canada puts out a report every year that breaks down the need for food across the country. If you wish to look into it, it is called the Hunger Count Report.
WYCD: If you have volunteers, are you finding more people involved in helping out, and does it fluctuate throughout the year?
We have a wonderful community of volunteers – approximately 3,000 people helped us last year. That equated to the number of work hours of 12 full time staff members. Without our volunteers we would not be able to do what we do.
The interest of people volunteering definitely rises during the holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year) and it falls a bit in the summer.
WYCD: Do you have special requests for the types of food/meals
that you provide?
We appreciate all donations, but we really do try to encourage our donors to make healthy decisions. Opt for whole wheat, low sodium, etc options when giving non-perishable donations.
WYCD: What are easy ways that your community can help out your organization even if they only have one minute of time to give? What if they have one hour to give?
With one minute you can easily make a secure donation online, or text to donate! Text “Hungry” to 45678 to make a one-time $5 donation. At the Ottawa Food Bank we can make your dollar go far. We can turn $1 donated into $5 worth of food; we have excellent food industry partners, bulk purchasing power, and great operational efficiencies that make that possible.
If they have an hour or more, email us at volunteer@ottawafoodbank.ca and see what opportunities we have. Or keep an eye on our online volunteer tool for events where we need volunteers. You can register and sign up online!
We want to send many thanks to the Ottawa food bank for sharing their insight on hunger in the Ottawa region with us. As we strive to end hunger as a global community, they showed us how cities in the U.S. and across the border face a rising need for food support. By finding ways to take action, one minute at a time, we can help erase hunger in our neighborhoods and around the world.
If you want to learn more about their work, you can visit the Ottawa Food Bank website at:
http://ottawafoodbank.ca
@OttawaFoodBank
If you want to learn more about Holy Apostles in New York City, you can visit their website at:
http://www.holyapostlesnyc.org
@holyapostlesNYC
To join What You Can Do in the mission to help change the world, one minute at a time,
please visit us at:
www.facebook.com/whatyoucando
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos
Friday, November 29, 2013
Spotlight on Hunger: WYCD Interviews The Food Pantry in San Francisco California.
This holiday season, What You Can Do is teaming up with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen to help raise awareness and fight hunger in New York City. As 1 in every 5 New Yorkers face hunger, Holy Apostles plays a crucial role in providing food, support and hope to people in need.
The What You Can Do team is based in New York, so we have the opportunity to collaborate with many organizations that are inspiring change throughout our city. Since fans watch What You Can Do from around the world, we thought this holiday season would be a good time to highlight different perspectives on hunger. Over 49 million Americans are facing hunger today, with more than 15 million of that number being children.
We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their areas etc.
We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their areas etc.
Our third spotlight this season is on The Food Pantry, a hunger relief organization that helps provide free groceries to families in need, in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Food Pantry offers free, fresh groceries to about 450 hungry families every week. We are a community-run organization, all-volunteer, staffed by the people who use the pantry.
WYCD: How long have you been in operation?
Since 2000.
Since 2000.
WYCD: Have the overall numbers of visitors changed in the last
few years?
Our numbers go up when times are hard; we anticipate more visitors if food stamp benefits are cut.
Our numbers go up when times are hard; we anticipate more visitors if food stamp benefits are cut.
WYCD: Has the demographic of your visitors changed over the last
several years?
(Are you seeing an increase in certain age groups, races, economic status, genders or the marital status of people needing your services?)
The incredibly high housing costs in the San Francisco Bay Area mean that we see a lot of working families, as well as elders, who ae simply unable to pay rent and to buy enough food.
WYCD: What are the most prevalent issues in your community, and do you feel that this reflects the current trends around the region?
Housing, poverty, immigration.
We are all-volunteer. Glad to take individual volunteers of all ages, but we can't accommodate groups.
WYCD: Do you have special requests for the types of food/meals
that you provide?
We provide a lot of fresh produce.
WYCD: What are easy ways that your community can help out your organization even
if they only have one minute of time to give? What if they have one hour to
give?
It costs us just one dollar to buy groceries for a family each week; $50 will feed a family for a year. Donations of money are far more effective than donations of food, though we appreciate getting fresh produce from neighbors who have fruit trees or gardens.
We want to send many thanks to Sara Miles at The Food Pantry for sharing her insight on hunger in the San Francisco Bay Area with us. With hunger on the rise across the country in recent years, The Food Pantry's team of volunteers inspires us about how to participate in programs to help feed hungry people in our communities. No matter what the size these relief organizations are helping to make a big difference in our world.
If you want to learn more about their work, you can visit the The Food Pantry website at: www.thefoodpantry.org
If you want to learn more about Holy Apostles in New York City, you can visit their website at:
http://www.holyapostlesnyc.org
@holyapostlesNYC
To join What You Can Do in the mission to help change the world, one minute at a time,
please visit us at:
www.facebook.com/whatyoucando
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Spotlight on Hunger: WYCD Interviews the Utah Food Bank in Salt Lake City
This holiday season, What You Can Do is teaming up with Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen to help raise awareness and fight hunger in New York City. As 1 in every 5 New Yorkers face hunger, Holy Apostles plays a crucial role in providing food, support and hope to people in need.
The What You Can Do team is based in New York, so we have the opportunity to collaborate with many organizations inspiring change throughout our city. Since fans watch What You Can Do from around the world, we thought this holiday season would be a good time to highlight different perspectives on hunger. Over 49 million Americans are facing hunger today, with more than 15 million of that number being children.
We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their communities etc.
We interviewed representatives from food banks and hunger organizations across the country and in Canada, asking about involvement in their communities, services they offer, trends they are seeing in their communities etc.
Our second spotlight this season is the Utah Food Bank, a hunger relief organization based out of Salt Lake City, Utah.
An interview with Heidi Cannella, Communications Specialist for the Utah Food Bank, in Salt Lake City.
WYCD: Please tell us a little about your organization
and the community that you serve.
1 in 6 Utahns are at risk of missing at least one meal per day. This equates to 472,000 Utahns, or 17% of our population. Even more alarming is that 1 in 5 kids are unsure where their next meal is coming from. With the help of our generous supporters last year, we were able to distribute 36.3 million pounds of food, or the equivalent of over 28 million meals. We are not a direct distribution center, but instead distribute food to a statewide network of 130 partner agencies, who then distribute it to our clients.
1 in 6 Utahns are at risk of missing at least one meal per day. This equates to 472,000 Utahns, or 17% of our population. Even more alarming is that 1 in 5 kids are unsure where their next meal is coming from. With the help of our generous supporters last year, we were able to distribute 36.3 million pounds of food, or the equivalent of over 28 million meals. We are not a direct distribution center, but instead distribute food to a statewide network of 130 partner agencies, who then distribute it to our clients.
WYCD: How long have you been in operation?
Utah Food Bank was founded in 1904 as the Salt Lake Charity Association. Over its 100 years of operation under various names and in various forms, Utah Food Bank has remained committed to serving Utah's citizens in need.
Utah Food Bank was founded in 1904 as the Salt Lake Charity Association. Over its 100 years of operation under various names and in various forms, Utah Food Bank has remained committed to serving Utah's citizens in need.
WYCD: What types of services do you provide to your community?
Utah Food Bank’s primary service is our emergency food assistance program, through which we distribute food to a statewide network of 130 partner agencies such as emergency food pantries, congregate feeding sites (i.e. soup kitchens), and partner agencies. Last year we distributed over 36.3 million pounds of food statewide - the equivalent of over 28.4 million meals. We have several direct service programs that we offer as well:
- Kids Cafe: Utah Food Bank's Kids Cafe provides up to 1,730 hot, nutritious meals daily to children in low-income after-school programs at schools, community centers and after-school programs around Salt Lake County. We utilize 30 after-school sites to offer this service to kids who may go home and not be fed any dinner and were able to distribute over 200,000 meals in this manner.
- BackPack Program: Through this program, Utah Food Bank provides packages of nutritious, nonperishable foods to many Utah schools. A designated school employee will load packs of food into children’s backpacks at the end of every week. The packs are filled with food items that are non-perishable, kid-friendly, and require little-to-no preparation and contain items such as milk, tuna, instant macaroni and cheese, canned pasta meals such as Spaghetti-Os, vegetables and fruit cups. When the child returns on Monday, they give the pack to the school who fill it again and send it home the following Friday. Last year we distributed over 69,000 backpacks to kids in Utah.
- UFB Food Box Program: Seniors, children and persons with disabilities are among the most vulnerable people UFB serves. Too often, daily expenses cut into limited retirement budgets, and seniors go hungry rather than neglect a utility bill or their medication. More than 3,600 low-income seniors and persons with disabilities receive a box of non-perishable food (and some perishables as they are available) each month from Utah Food Bank through the UFB Food Box Program. These boxes are hand-delivered by volunteers, and we distributed 41,195 food boxes statewide last year.
- Mobile Pantry: We have a refrigerated vehicle that allows us to serve food items to populations who are underserved by brick and mortar pantries alone. This could be to a lack of available transportation. We pull up to a designated site (typically monthly), set out tables and food, then the line moves through as we distribute the food. Last year, we visited approximately 650 mobile pantry sites, which served an estimated 13,000 people.
WYCD: Have the overall numbers of visitors changed in the last
few years?
Unfortunately, we have no reliable source of data regarding the number of people we serve as our partner agencies are the ones who see our clients. There is a lot of duplication and cross-over (i.e. clients utilizing more than one service or pantry), so we actually don’t know how many people we serve. We do know that despite our efforts to fight hunger, we are continually expanding our distribution, so this tells us that the need is nowhere near solved. The way that we track the number of people we serve is through how many meals we serve, which has remained around an average of 28.3 million meals for the past two years.
Unfortunately, we have no reliable source of data regarding the number of people we serve as our partner agencies are the ones who see our clients. There is a lot of duplication and cross-over (i.e. clients utilizing more than one service or pantry), so we actually don’t know how many people we serve. We do know that despite our efforts to fight hunger, we are continually expanding our distribution, so this tells us that the need is nowhere near solved. The way that we track the number of people we serve is through how many meals we serve, which has remained around an average of 28.3 million meals for the past two years.
WYCD: Has the demographic of your visitors changed over the last
several years?
(Are you seeing an increase in certain age groups, races, economic status, genders or the marital status of people needing your services?)
We do not track demographics for similar reasons as [the question before], but we are hearing that the people using our services are using them longer than in the past (it is taking longer for people to get back on their feet), and that a larger number of those we serve are working poor – they have so far to go to get caught up that they need more assistance than in the past. Another trend we are seeing is that people are underemployed – they may have gone back to work but with lower pay, so are unable to cover all their bills – sadly, food is typically the last expense that gets covered.
WYCD: What are the most prevalent issues in your community, and do you feel that this reflects the current trends around the region?
Utah
Food Bank strongly believes that our biggest issue is childhood hunger in our
state, where 1 in 5 kids are unsure where their next meal will come from. With
1 in 6 Utahns living below the poverty level (roughly 472,000 people), we have
a long way to go to help these kids, and their parents, to become food secure.
WYCD: If you have volunteers, are you finding more people involved in helping out, and does it fluctuate throughout the year?
We
see a continually increasing rise, year-over-year, in the number of volunteer
hours that we use. Last year, we
utilized over 103,000 volunteer hours, or the equivalent of 49 full-time
employees. We could not distribute 36.3 million pounds of food if we had to pay
49 additional employees, so rely heavily on our volunteers. Our holiday time
frame is our busiest time of year for volunteers, and spots can book up to a
year in advance during the holidays. Summer is probably our slowest time for
volunteers – people are busy with summer activities and also there are fewer
school groups who come to volunteer.
WYCD: Do you have special requests for the types of food/meals
that you provide?
We
almost always ask for food that is highly nutritious, low in sodium and sugar,
and high in protein. Peanut butter, tuna, boxed meals, pasta, etc. Macaroni
& cheese is always in high demand from the kids we serve.
WYCD: What are easy ways that your community can help out your organization even
if they only have one minute of time to give? What if they have one hour to
give?
We
always ask for 3 things – food, time, or money. If someone has 1 minute to
give, they can like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter – this will help
them to become more aware of the issue of hunger. If they have 2 minutes, they
could share one of our posts with their friends, thereby advocating for all
those in need for our state, and spreading the word about our mission. People
can text UTAH to 50555 to donate $10. Donating online only takes a few minutes,
and the fact that we turn $1 into $8 worth of goods and services means that
their financial donations go even further than donations of food. We even have
a way to “shop” for specific food items online through our “Virtual Food
Drive.” Another quick and easy way to help is by dropping off food donations at
one of the many drop-off locations statewide. With more time, they could
organize neighborhood or community group food drives, or even volunteer here at
our warehouse or at one of our partner agencies.
If you want to learn more about their work, you can visit the Utah Food Bank website at: www.utahfoodbank.org
@utahfoodbank
If you want to learn more about Holy Apostles in New York City, you can visit their website at:
http://www.holyapostlesnyc.org
@holyapostlesNYC
To join What You Can Do in the mission to help change the world, one minute at a time,
please visit us at:
www.facebook.com/whatyoucando
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos
www.whatyoucando.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/WhatYouCanDo365/videos
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
Missy's Homestead: Resolution Ideas
Resolutions Part 1
1. Try my best to use less paper towels and commit to buying them recycled. I love paper towels. They are quick and easy plus they just get the job done. I love them. I am not afraid to admit it. However, I do use too many and consequently I often buy them in bulk at Costco. Thus giving me plenty of papertowels but they sure are not recycled. I need to amend this habit. I need to use less paper towels and if I am going to buy them I need to buy them from recycled materials. I think that the best way I can achieve this goal is by using more reusable kitchen towels. This way I can wash them once they are dirty and reuse them. Also I feel like instead of keeping the paper towels out where they are easily accessible, that I should put them away. If the paper towel are out the way I feel that I would opt for using the kitchen towel before I roll out the paper towels.
5. Learn to save on my energy bill buy giving up washing cloths in hot water. Most of the energy that a washing machine uses is for the heating of the water. I find that cloths come out just as clean with cold water. So why not commit to saving money and resources by never turning the dial to Hot.
Until next time Consume More, Buy Less, Commit to be the change.
Like most people I always make New Year Resolutions. And like most people they last for about the first month and then they fade. And again like most people every year I vow that this year will be different.
Even though I know all this I still want to make some resolutions for this year. Here is a list of a few of my ideas that you might also want to try out.
1. Try my best to use less paper towels and commit to buying them recycled. I love paper towels. They are quick and easy plus they just get the job done. I love them. I am not afraid to admit it. However, I do use too many and consequently I often buy them in bulk at Costco. Thus giving me plenty of papertowels but they sure are not recycled. I need to amend this habit. I need to use less paper towels and if I am going to buy them I need to buy them from recycled materials. I think that the best way I can achieve this goal is by using more reusable kitchen towels. This way I can wash them once they are dirty and reuse them. Also I feel like instead of keeping the paper towels out where they are easily accessible, that I should put them away. If the paper towel are out the way I feel that I would opt for using the kitchen towel before I roll out the paper towels.
2. Always do Meatless Monday. I don't think this will be that hard for me as both my husband and I love veggies and other meatless item. The problem for me is just committing to always remembering to do so. The benefits for participating in this are not just for the health benefits but also it helps the environment and contributes to a reduction of your carbon footprint.
3. Investing in a rain catcher or barrel. It rains all the time in the winter and spring in sonoma county. Reusing rain water is a great way to help the environment and help protect our water resources. I can feed my plants stored rain water and water my grass with water
that has all been collected from the massive amounts of rain fall. Again it is just about committing to taking the time to catch the water.
4. Get off the mailing list of printed catalogs. Billions of catalogs are mailed out in America and each of these costs millions in trees, water, printing etc. If we could reduce our use of these printed materials we could help eliminate some of the stress on our environment. Less clutter, less pollutions, less waste all around. I need to commit a day to contacting all the companies that send me their catalogs and have them remove me from their mailing list.
Okay I have a few more resolutions but that is it for now, more next week. Also if you have some great Green inspired resolutions please let me know. I would love to hear about the ways that others are trying to be better stewards of our earth.
Until next time Consume More, Buy Less, Commit to be the change.
Missy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)