Need-a-Bag Project Update 11.28.09 -- Happy Thanksgiving Edition!

Note: The Need-a-Bag? project was created to promote sustainable bagging at the Hwy 441 Alachua County Farmer's Market each Saturday morning. We supply reusable tote bags reclaimed from thrift stores and garage sales. The Need-a-Bag? project also utilizes old tank tops as tote bags by sewing up the bottoms (these are called t-totes). We invite you to read the other posts on the project by clicking the "Need-a-Bag? Project" label at the bottom of this post.

It was a great Thanksgiving at the various Need-a-Bag? Project enclaves, but that doesn't mean the project takes a break! No sir, we were there bright and early this morning -- with no bags, but there were still quite a number left-over from the Sustainability Festival oh, so long ago. Dang, that reminds me, I have to post about that festival, even through it's been over a month. I have been so lame about posting, but I want to give a shout-out to Layla, our Slovenia correspondent at the AE, as she comments on sustainability behind the iron curtain -- wait, does Slovenia have an iron curtain? Don't ask me, I read The Gainesville Sun (haha, a little in-joke for the olds reading this)! Anyway, she left some great comments on my latest rant about the Krishna Lunch cards, and I hope she will not be deterred from continued commenting because of my complete lameness on not posting more regularly, especially since she's one of probably five people who read this blog without being strong-armed (you know who you are).

Anyway, a little update on our labeling activities with the Need-a-Bag? project: We have started NOT labeling some of the bags. That's right, these bags have fallen from the wide-sweeping scope of our bag procurements -- left by great, noble, anonymous (probably Jean) donors, that look clean, smell clean, and just deserve to be left hanging. Okay, we're honestly too lazy to collect them and wash them, but from now on, be warned: Bags that do not have the Need-a-Bag? Project label with verbiage and url for this blog are outside of our jurisdiction. So, you will see bags, as in the photo on the right, that have no labels and ones that do. The bags with no labels are not sanctioned by the Need-a-Bag? project, as in, they have not been washed and dried by our hands to ensure the cleanest possible tote for your shopping needs. That does not mean the unlabeled ones are not safe to use, as they have passed a cursory inspection (looking, sniffing, see above), but the Need-a-Bag? project will not be held liable for any lurking dust bunnies or hair balls we did not detect. This ends the legal mumbo-jumbo.

The only thing I've been stocking up on are pecans, which are easy to freeze and use in recipes as needed. I have so many bags right now, however, I might need to make a pecan pie, or try making one of DG's fabulous pecan, no flour, crusts. Take that, carbs!

New Krishna Lunch Card

I've got a vegetarian bone to pick with the Krishnas who serve lunch on the University of Florida Plaza of the Americas. I have recounted my various positive and negative encounters with the Gainesville Krishnas in the past, but this one's got my karma-ridden blood up. Am I ready to throw down with the Krishna clan? Maybe.

I was all excited when I got to grad school because I was sooo close now to having Krishna lunches; at my old job at the law library it was too far away to even consider a leisurely Krishna lunch on the plaza. Now all my daily journeys take me within spitting distance of the Krishna lunch. So, the other day I decided to get a 30-dollar lunch card. As you can see from the above photograph, the top card is my old lunch card, with one precious lunch left. But look at the bottom, new card! They cut out the 10th lunch! Now I only have 9 lunches for my hard-earned 30-dollar donation! Okay, they jacked the price up to 4-dollars for the individual lunches so that makes my savings....lets me get the calculator here....so I'm only saving about 67-cents per meal, so my total savings is...6-dollars? Really? Hmm, maybe it's not so bad, after all.

October update on Charlie's Soap

So, I bought this humongous barrel of Charlie's Soap, and I'm about 2/3 of the way through, now. I'll probably use it all up in a year, so I think the 100 and something-odd dollars I paid for it (with free shipping) was well worth it. I started using fragrance oils to add a little scent to the clothes, and have not had any ill effects on the clothes. It also allows me to get rid of fragrance oils I bought for home-made bath products that I ended up not liking, so right now I'm using "Apple Jack and Orange Peel." While I didn't like it in soaps or lotions, it is working just fine as a laundry scent enhancer.

Plastic Bag Reduction Act of 2009

I was at the Super Walmart by my house (yes, I know) getting a ton of play-doh for an activity for the technical communications class I'm teaching this semester, and as I was leaving I stopped by the greeter to show her my receipt, which I've gotten into the habit of doing when I bring reusable shopping bags. I've gotten stopped at the door because the bags are opaque so I guess they feel hinky about letting me leave if they can't see the contents. After looking at my receipt the woman admired my bag -- it was from Ward's Supermarket. Ward's has probably the biggest reusable polyprop bags in town; they cost something like 2.49US but they are HUGE.

After telling her where she could get the bags, she asked, "What do you think about the 5-cent charge for plastic bags?" I was nonplussed, as this was the first I had heard about it. I asked her, "In Gainesville?" and she replied, "Everywhere, starting January 1st, 2010."

I didn't say whether or not I liked the idea (which I did, natch) but I said, "well, in Dublin they've been doing that for a few years, now, and they cost 9-cents there, so 5-cents is a pretty good deal." I walked out, thinking "how come I didn't know about this?"

So, as soon as I got home I started investigating. This is not law, yet. It's something Senator Jim Moran of Virginia proposed in April of this year, called the Plastic Bag Reduction Act of 2009. As of right now, H.R. 2091, as it is affectionately known, is still in committee.

Here's the summary:

4/23/2009--Introduced.
Plastic Bag Reduction Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to require retailers to pay an excise tax on single-use carryout bags. Allows refunds of such tax for retailers who have a program for recycling such bags. Establishes in the Treasury the Single-Use Carryout Bag Trust Fund to hold tax revenues generated by this Act. Directs the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments from such Trust Fund into the land and water conservation fund provided for in the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965. Directs the Comptroller General to study and report to Congress on the effectiveness of this Act in reducing the use of single-use carryout bags.

All I can say is, YAY!!!!!1!1

Need-a-Bag Project Update 09.26.09: So, so alone...

Note: The Need-a-Bag? project was created to promote sustainable bagging at the Hwy 441 Alachua County Farmer's Market each Saturday morning. We supply reusable tote bags reclaimed from thrift stores and garage sales. The Need-a-Bag? project also utilizes old tank tops as tote bags by sewing up the bottoms (these are called t-totes). We invite you to read the other posts on the project by clicking the "Need-a-Bag? Project" label at the bottom of this post.

Wish I had taken the camera to the market -- it is so barren of farmers that it isn't even funny. I decided to purchase some eggplants, sweet potatoes, and red potatoes. I'm starting to cook more again, but I'm still a little shy about making huge produce investments.

DG went to the market on her own last week and was ashamed at the paucity of tote bags we had -- that is, in part, because I had taken a bunch of the bags home to be washed. So, we had more bags this week, and Jean had once again lavished us with tote bags, probably for pennies on the dollar. I think because it has been so slow at the market, this will be the time of year we start stockpiling.

Oh, and guess what? The Need-a-Bag? project is coming up on its SECOND anniversary. That's right -- the project will be two years old on October 27th! It seems just like yesterday we were skanking the table for Slow Food Gainesville through a serious misunderstanding with Jared the market manager. Ah, memories.

No Goat Cheese at the 441 Farmers Market?!

Okay, remember how I was all about Glades Ridge Dairy and their delicious cheese-of-goats? Well, something terrible has happened! They were told by the head of the Alachua County Farmers Market, Helen Emery, told them last week that they were suspended from the farmers market until the board of directors could reach a decision about whether they could continue to sell their products at the farmers market. I am including the text of Joe Pietrangelo's letter that was sent to their email list, and also was included as a comment in the original post about Glades Ridge.

I would just like to say that I am shocked that they would be treated like this, and have emailed Helen Emery to voice my concerns. You can do the same by emailing Helen Emery, or the 441 market manager, Jared Sweat, and let them know that you think Glades Ridge Dairy should be allowed to sell their products at the 441 farmers market.

Here's the text of Joe's letter:

Joe nubians@gladesridge.com

Dear Friends:



The reason that I’m sending you this email is to let you all know why Glades Ridge Dairy is not at the Alachua County Farmers Market.



Yesterday I received a call from Helen Emery, the president of the Board of the Alachua County Farmers Market. Helen informed me that we were suspended from selling our milk and cheese until the next Board meeting in October, when it will be decided whether or not to suspend us permanently. The reasoning behind this decision was not because anything bad had occurred, and is as follows – we are selling unpasteurized dairy products and the Board fears that, if anyone became ill from eating our products, they would be liable and sued. Helen told me that they had consulted with a number of attorneys and other scientific experts. The conclusion of these experts was that the sale of our dairy products at the Alachua County Farmer’s Market was a liability due to the inherent dangers of raw milk, and because our customers may not be fully aware of or educated about what they were purchasing. [Note that we are in full compliance with all Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services regulations and possess a fully executed permit to sell raw milk/dairy as long as it is properly labeled.]

We sincerely hope to be back at the Alachua County Farmers Market soon. Until then, our products are available for pick-up from the farm. We are located north on SR 121 to Worthington Springs, and then about five miles west on CR 18. If you’d like to pick up at the farm, call me at 386-266-7041 for directions and to arrange a pick-up time. I’ll be glad to introduce you to the dairy herd too, and you can also see first-hand where the does are milked and cheese is produced. We are committed to producing quality products for you, and want you all to know that we will do everything that we can to be back at space #20 selling milk, cheese and eggs as soon as possible. If you go to the market and are so inclined, let the market manager, Jared Sweat and any of the board that happen to be there, know what you think. Your support is vital to helping us resolve this. You can also contact the market via email: Jared Sweat’s email is marketmanager@441market.com and Helen Emery’s is hme@441market.com



Thanks very much, and we hope to see you soon.



Joe Pietrangelo for Glades Ridge Dairy

Joe Pietrangelo and Greg Yurish, owners/operators

Need-a-Bag Project Update 09.12.09 -- OKRA!!!1!

Note: The Need-a-Bag? project was created to promote sustainable bagging at the Hwy 441 Alachua County Farmer's Market each Saturday morning. We supply reusable tote bags reclaimed from thrift stores and garage sales. The Need-a-Bag? project also utilizes old tank tops as tote bags by sewing up the bottoms (these are called t-totes). We invite you to read the other posts on the project by clicking the "Need-a-Bag? Project" label at the bottom of this post.

Ohmygosh, the okra is everywhere! I cannot eat okra; last year I tried to make soup with okra and it turned into this alien gelatinous mess. So, I cannot eat okra.

Lots of fun things to talk about in the world of bags -- Jean has been giving us bags left and right! She is a Need-a-Bag? Project Angel, and the way she procures the bags is absolutely amazing: She bargains for them, and will not take them for more than 50-cents a piece, if she can't get them for 3/$1.00. When she told me this, I laughed and said, "gee, we always say we won't pay more than a dollar for a bag, heh, heh," and then Jean basically told me I was an idiot. All fair! I AM an idiot if I am not following this woman around and learning all her secrets to garage/estate/yard sale wheeling and dealing.

Another person I would like to highlight in this post is Gayle, of the Waste Watchers, who had a table set up today and was giving out free, reusable bags -- hey, that's our job! Nosing in on our territory, eh? These weren't just any old, free reusable bags, they were free, reusable bags made from recycled plastic bottles! Gayle also is another Need-a-Bag? Project Angel, because she is apparently the kind soul who donated a ton of school-related type tote bags from various meetings and what not for educators. Maybe that was the Need-a-Bag? project miracle I recounted a ways back. I also made a mockery of Compost Kid in a prior post from January but, it turns out, Waste Watchers is a slick operation that other waste management companies wish they could be like. I was very impressed with Gayle and her Waste Watcher activities, and am also very thankful for her continued donations to the project. Thank you, Gayle!!!

I ended up by the Glades Ridge Goat Cheese table and bought some cheese from the nice gents who run the table. When I got home I turned it into the goop I always make it into and then put that into an amazing omelet with farm-fresh eggs I get from my egg connection on campus. I talked about Glades Ridge in a recent post; one thing I want to say is that the picture I supposedly took of the table and gentlemen who run the operation did not make it onto my computer, for some reason. Supernatural? Maybe. I have another supernatural event that happened to me at Rolfs Hall right before I went in to teach my first class of the Technical Communications class I have this semester -- but I'm saving that story for Halloween! Boo!

Here is a picture of some adorable puppies, waiting obediently for their mistress' return.

We're #15! We're #15: Sierra Club Cool Schools

The Sierra Club just released their "Cool Schools" for 2o09 and UF ranked 15th -- Top twenty! Woohoo! Oh, wait, last year we were in the top 10 at #7. What the....?

The Cool Schools list ranks national universities for how eco they are. I can only imagine it is because Bernie Machen sacrificed the environment for being the Harvard of the South.