Category Archives: Sustainable Food

Become a FruitShare Neighborhood Hub Leader!

Salt Lake City is proud to partner with Green Urban Lunch Box (GULB) to provide the SLC FruitShare program, which aims to feed the community while reducing food waste and utilizing neglected resources.

Each season, as fruit is ready to be harvested at the homes of registered fruit tree owners, groups of volunteers are organized to go out and harvest. The harvested yield is distributed between the homeowners, volunteers, and local food banks and other community agencies.

GULB is currently seeking Neighborhood Hub Leaders for the FruitShare Program, to help maintain efficiency and effectiveness as the organization continues to incorporate more trees and more volunteers.

The Neighborhood Hub Leaders will fulfill the vital role of recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in their neighborhood. Each leader will be primarily responsible for organizing and overseeing fruit tree thinning and harvesting events within their specified hub, ensuring that all of the registered fruit trees in that region are harvested in a timely manner. While this position requires independent initiative, the leaders will receive supervision and support from Green Urban Lunch Box.

For a position description and application, visit the GULB website at or email pickfruit@gulb.org.

Sustainable Living Solutions and Inspiration, Winter Market at Rio Grande

March is Sustainable Living Solutions and Inspiration month at the Winter Market. Meet with Utah business owners and organizations who inspire environmentally friendly living solutions. A handful of local agencies, including SLCgreen, will be in attendance at the Winter Market on March 12 and March 26 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm to discuss what services are available to you and how you can reduce your ecological footprint.

Did you know that electronic waste (e-waste) is the fastest growing waste stream in the United States? Valuable precious metals can be salvaged from recycling e-waste and toxic chemicals are prevented from entering the landfill and ground water. Good news — Recycle Solutions will be onsite at the March Winter Markets collecting electronic waste from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm! Below is a list of acceptable goods.

Please note CTR TVs (tube TVs) or refrigerators will NOT be accepted at this collection event.

Accepted Items:
Batteries
Cameras
Cell Phones
Communications Equipment
Computers Fax/Copy Machines Ink/Toner Cartridges
Keyboards & Accessories
Laptops
Office Machines Monitors
Network Devices
Hand Held Devices
Printers & Scanners
Returned or Unwanted Products
Servers Stereos and Audio Equipment
Telephones
Televisions (No CRT TVs)
VCR’s & DVD Players
Washers & Dryers
Paper
Plastic

For more information visit the SLC Downtown Farmers Market website or Facebook page.

Climate, Food and Conflict

Climate, Food & Conflict: How is Climate Change Creating Disruptions Across the Globe?

Thursday, March 3, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.
Salt Lake City Main Library Auditorium – 210 East 400 South
Free, Public Event!

Join us on Thursday, March 3 for an exciting film screening and panel discussion with Dr. Tariq Banuri and Dr. Christine Clay to hear their insights on agriculture, climate change and disruption in the Middle East.

We’ll start the evening with a 60-minute screening of Episode 7 of the Emmy-award winning series Years of Living Dangerously. Episode 7, titled Revolt, Rebuild, Renew, features Jessica Alba, Thomas Friedman, and Chris Hayes and focuses on three stories that provide insight into the economic costs and opportunities of global warming.

The film screening will be followed by a 30-minute panel with our local experts.

Speaker Bios
Professor Tariq Banuri, Department of Economics, University of Utah, is an expert on sustainable development policy and institutional design. Before joining the University of Utah, he had served as the Director, UN Division for Sustainable Development, and earlier as the Director of Future Studies, Stockholm Environment Institute, and Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad. He has been instrumental in the design of a number of institutions and networks on sustainable development, and has provided policy advice to the Government of Pakistan as well as several international institutions.

He has served on national as well as international forums for policy and research, including as Coordinating Lead Author on the Nobel Prize winning Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change (AGECC), member of the United Nations’ Committee on Development Policy (CDP), member of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Council, member of the board of governors of Pakistan’s central bank, member/secretary of the Presidential Committee on Higher Education, and Chair of IUCN’s Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy (CEESP).

Christy Clay has been a member of the faculty at Westminster College since 2007. She teaches a variety of courses in the Environmental Studies and Biology departments, and serves as chair of the Environmental Studies Program. She also has an active undergraduate research program investigating the environmental and ecological constraints of urban agriculture and food production. In her free time, Christy can be found working in her own garden, trail running or mountain biking, and obsessing about the current state of our food and agriculture system. Christy has a Bachelor’s Degree in Art History from Colorado College and a PhD in Biology from University of Utah.

Annual Urban and Small Farms Conference Feb. 17-18

Registration is now open for the 4th Annual Urban and Small Farms Conference. The conference will take place February 17th and 18th at the Viridian Center (8030 S 1825 W, West Jordan).

Below is a general conference overview.
• Day 1, February 17th – Utah Berry Growers, Backyard Chickens and Aquaponics, Vegetable production, a beginning farmers workshop, and a workshop targeted toward refugee farmers.
• Day 2, February 18th – GAP workshop, tree fruit basics, USDA programs, Irrigation track, alternative production, Food Safety Modernization Act updates, and Food Hub discussion.

Early registration is $30 per day or $50 for both days. Lunch and breaks will be provided both days.

For more information and to register, visit www.diverseag.org. Please help to spread the word, and share with anyone that may be interested.

Green Holiday Ideas

Here are some tips for a more sustainable holiday season.

Gifts Use recycled wrapping paper! Get creative and make your own with old maps, newspaper, photographs, or paper bags. Here are some more fun ideas!

Give experiences instead of material items. Think a visit to a museum, garden, or aviary, or a ski pass, a yoga or cooking class, a gift certificate to a spa or a ticket to a ballet or sporting event. Or consider donating to an organization on behalf of someone. Make gifts or buy gifts made of recycled materials. If you are going to buy gifts, support local businesses including our e2 businesses which are both local and green!

Food Make sustainable food choices like buying from local growers. Stock up on holiday staples at this weekend’s Winter Market Saturday from 10:00am-2:00pm at the Rio Grande Train Depot.

Incorporate vegan dishes into your holiday traditions. Be creative with leftovers and reduce food waste. Also, use reusable tableware and be sure to recycle glass and cans.

Decorations Here are some fun decorating ideas: String popcorn and cranberries together to make festive decor. Make paper chains with recycled newspapers or magazines and homemade ornaments out of recycled holiday cards. Cut bows from shrubs and trees in your yard and make a homemade wreath. After the holidays, if you have a tree, please put it in the brown compost can.

Have a wonderful holiday season!

SLCgreen Releases 2015 State of Sustainability Report

For the first time ever, Salt Lake City Green has released a State of Sustainability Report. 2015: State of Sustainability in Salt Lake City is an overview of Salt Lake City’s hardworking Sustainability Division, which began in 2008.

The Sustainability Division (otherwise known as Salt Lake City Green, or SLCgreen) aims to preserve and improve our built and natural environments and provide people with information on sustainability issues affecting Salt Lake City. The Division of Sustainability develops goals and strategies to protect our natural resources, reduce pollution, slow climate change, and establish a path toward greater resiliency and vitality for all aspects of our community.

2015: State of Sustainability in Salt Lake City covers the core areas of the division, from air quality, climate change, energy and food to curbside recycling, garbage, compost and glass.

We’re excited to give you a look at what we’ve accomplished to date, and what we’re proud to be working on!

Explore the State of Sustainability. Download the report (PDF).

Feedback? Email us at SLCgreen@slcgov.com.

We’re excited for another fantastic year — see you in 2016!

Salt Lake City Announces Awardee, Location of the New Culinary Incubator Kitchen Project

Salt Lake City is pleased to announce that Square Kitchen has been awarded a competitive $350,000 grant to develop a culinary incubator kitchen in the Poplar Grove neighborhood. The new Square Kitchen will provide accessible and affordable commercial kitchen space to budding food entrepreneurs, in addition to regulatory, marketing and business resources.

“There is high demand for local and organic food options in Salt Lake City,” said Mayor Ralph Becker. “Square Kitchen will help to build and diversify our local food economy by removing the barriers that are preventing new companies from starting in the food sector – specifically the lack of commercial kitchen space and accessible business resources.”

Earlier this year, Mayor Becker and the Salt Lake City Council approved $600,000 to support the development of a Culinary Incubator Kitchen in Salt Lake City. $350,000 was available through a competitive grant process, while the additional $250,000 was made available through a loan. Proposals were submitted last summer to create and operate a culinary incubator kitchen.

The selection of Square Kitchen is another important step forward for a project that began over two years ago. In 2013, Salt Lake City’s Food Policy Task Force, in partnership with the Sustainability Division, worked with Carbaugh & Associates to conduct the Culinary Incubator Kitchen Feasibility Study (PDF). This study identified a strong demand for an incubator kitchen, while outlining the key components needed to create a successful project for the Salt Lake City community.

Square Kitchen, LLC was established in March 2015 by Analia Valdemoros, MCMP and Tham Soekotjo with the mission of building a culinary kitchen incubator facility accessible to all community members. Together, Valdemoros and Soekotjo have over 16 years of diverse experience as urban planners, entrepreneurs and local food business owners.

“Square Kitchen is thrilled to work with Salt Lake City in providing new and experienced food entrepreneurs with an affordable state-of-the art kitchen facility, sizable storage space, training opportunities to grow their food business, and most importantly, a gathering place to cultivate and increase food diversity in our city,” said Valdemoros and Soekotjo.

Square Kitchen is finalizing site plans and will break ground on the new facility in early spring 2016. The new kitchen plans to open its doors for business in July 2016.

For more information and to follow the progress of the Culinary Incubator Project, please visit www.SLCgreen.com.

Green Thanksgiving Ideas

1. Planning your holiday menu? What better place to do your Thanksgiving shopping than at the pre-Thanksgiving edition Winter Market at the Rio Grande, Saturday, November 21st? Feature local food on your table this season. Utah growers will be selling holiday staples: onions, potatoes, carrots, winter squash, pumpkin, apples and more!

2. Try Vegducken, a delicious and beautifully layered vegetarian entrée.

Here are some great additional vegetarian recipes!

3. Resist the urge to use disposable table settings. Have a dish-washing party with your guests. Many hands make work light!

4. Be creative with leftovers! Share them amongst guests. Re-purpose them into sandwiches and soups! Use re-usable containers for storage.

5. Compost and recycle. Remember plant based food scraps can go in the brown compost can!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Salt Lake City Awarded Grant to Expand Access to Healthy Foods in Glendale & Poplar Grove Neighborhoods

Photo: Real Food Rising

SALT LAKE CITY – Salt Lake City, in partnership with Green Urban Lunch Box, Utahns Against Hunger and Salt Lake Community Action Program’s Real Food Rising, has been awarded a U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers Market Promotion Program grant that will establish a mobile market and farm stands in the Glendale and Poplar Grove neighborhoods of Salt Lake City.

“Salt Lake City is striving to create an equitable local food system that provides healthy and affordable food for all residents,” said Mayor Ralph Becker. “For many residents in our Glendale and Poplar Grove neighborhoods, it can be a challenge to access healthy whole foods. This project will bring fresh, local fruits and vegetables to residents who live in the largest food desert in Salt Lake City.”

The $54,421 in grant funds will be used to coordinate and operate five mobile markets and three farm stands from June to October 2016, which will be hosted by Glendale-Mountain View Community Learning Center, Hartland Partnership Center, Neighborhood House, Sherwood Park and Sorenson Unity Center. All locations will accept SNAP/EBT and Double Up Food Bucks.

The 2013 Salt Lake City Community Food Assessment found that the Glendale/Poplar Grove area has low supermarket access and some of the lowest vehicle ownership rates in the city. Of key significance are the lack of a full-service grocery store and an abundance of fast food outlets and convenience stores within the target community, which has, lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture to classify these neighborhoods as food deserts.

Future updates on the program, slated to launch next summer, will be posted at SLCgreen.com.

Climate Week: Steps to Eliminate Food Waste

Today is World Food Day. World Food Day is a day of action against hunger. On October 16, people around the world come together to declare their commitment to eradicate hunger in our lifetime. Because when it comes to hunger, the only acceptable number in the world is zero.

Reducing food waste is an important component of climate action at home and worldwide.

Worldwide Food Waste Facts

Every year, consumers in industrialized countries waste almost as much food as the entire net food production of sub-Saharan Africa (222 million vs. 230 million tons)
The amount of food lost and wasted every year is equal to more than half of the world’s annual cereals crops (2.3 billion tons in 2009/10)
More facts

North American Food Waste Facts

In the USA, organic waste is the second highest component of landfills, which are the largest source of methane emissions
In the USA, 30-40% of the food supply is wasted, equaling more than 20 pounds of food per person per month
More facts

So what can you do? Here are the recommendations from the United Nations Environment Programme, Regional Office of North America:

Think. Be a smart shopper and think about what you are buying and when it will be eaten. Wasting food is often a subconscious act – become aware of how much food you throw away. Plan meals and use shopping lists. Bring your leftovers home from restaurants in reusable containers.

Eat. Become a more mindful eater. Eyes bigger than your stomach? Request smaller portions and become a leftovers guru.

Save. Save your food, save your money and save the environment. Donate to food banks and become a conscious consumer.

Learn more at FoodDayUSA.org.