Welcome New Team Member!

Welcome our new environmental educator, Nicole Avendaño! She comes to us from Nashville, TN where she was working with a non-profit specializing in environmental and arts education. She a has a B.S. in Environmental Science and an M.S. in Sustainability. Nicole enjoys spending time outdoors and is thrilled to explore Pierce County’s beautiful natural environment.

We are excited to have Nicole and her skills on our team. Welcome, Nicole!

The Farm at Franklin Pierce Still Benefiting Students

Each year, we help hundreds of elementary students in the Franklin-Pierce school district participate in an annual harvest at The Farm at Franklin Pierce. This is the first fall in a decade that this great tradition and our favorite thing to do all year has been cancelled. Not all is lost! The food that is normally brought back to the district’s main kitchen to be prepped and served to students is still making it into their hands through the Fresh and Free Veggie Days program.

Thanks to volunteers and money raised by the CSA program, they were able to plant in the spring so there would be plenty of food to harvest in summer and fall. Four high school students were hired to help at the farm, and with socially distanced harvesting, the food is still making it's way to four locations across the district. Maybe some of this is even delivered by the district’s new electric bus!

The school district’s farm (which covers most of Midland, Summit, Brookdale/Collins and Parkland) still needs volunteer help through November 20^th. To find out more, see the Farm at Franklin Pierce.

The Tacoma Farmers Market has been an awesome partner in distributing locally-produced fresh and healthy foods to those in need this year, supporting over 25 Pierce County farms in the process! And it’s also a great place for holiday shopping!

There are four upcoming markets in the Pierce County and Tacoma area:

Thursday, November 19, Broadway Market, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Sunday, November 29, Point Ruston Market, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Sunday, December 6, Point Ruston Market, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Sunday, December 13, Point Ruston Market, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Walking the Talk (Sustainable Living)

Thanksgiving: savor and save more than just the leftovers this year!

Making small changes to the way you shop, eat and manage food waste this holiday season can help reduce greenhouse gases.

Thanksgiving and Greenhouse Gases?

The fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, petroleum, etc.) we burn to drive, use electricity, and to operate our homes & businesses produce greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, etc.). These gases trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere thereby warming the planet and increasing the global temperature.

An increase in global temperature can have profound impacts on human health, the environment, and the economy. Read more here.

Recognizing that our actions have an impact on the Earth, can help us feel motivated to affect change both at individual and systemic levels.

Follow these three tips to have a delicious and sustainable Thanksgiving!

#1: Shop Fresh, Local and Seasonal

Choose fresh foods over canned foods; replace canned vegetables (i.e. green beans) with a fresh alternative.
Eat locally; shop from a Pierce County Farm.
Eat seasonally; savor your family’s traditional recipes but try to incorporate one recipe into the meal that only uses seasonal ingredients. Maybe give this one a try! Click here to learn what’s in season now.

#2: Eat a Low Carbon Diet

You can choose to eat foods with a low carbon footprint. This can be calculated by measuring the amount of greenhouse gases emitted through food production, packaging, transport, etc. Read more about low carbon diets here.
Eat lower on the food chain. This means eating little to no meat and dairy on most days. These recipes might inspire you to eat less meat the week of Thanksgiving. Save the turkey for the big day!

#3: Manage Food Waste

Eat your leftovers and get creative with any remaining ingredients. There are many apps to help with this process. Check out this link where you’ll find food storage and planning tips.
Compost your organic waste: Watch our “Managing Food Waste” class for those who want to learn how and why we should keep all organic waste out of the landfill.