globalbriefs
Farm-to-Work Fresh Veggies Come Direct to Offi ces
Pioneering employers are now offering fresh vegetables to help employees improve their diet—and their health. Tech companies are even hiring professional chefs to prepare healthful lunches and snacks. In Texas, the Farm to Work program is making it easy and affordable for workers to pick up baskets of local produce at the offi ce. Participants aren’t required to pay an initial lump sum or commit to buying every week. Instead, they can sign up to receive produce in any given week. Other groups around the country are also looking into workplace produce delivery programs, and while many use the traditional community supported agriculture (CSA) model, others are experimenting with different procedures. The Farm Fresh Program, in Bellingham, Washington, connects local farmers to employers interested in receiving weekly deliveries. Meanwhile, Farm2Work, in Arkansas, links local purveyors of produce, meat, eggs, dairy, pies, jams and jellies to area employers. New York’s Adirondack Harvest, a branch of the Cornell Cooperative Extension, started by helping a single farmer link to area employers. The next step, says Teresa Whalen, the group’s southern chapter representative, is working to persuade insurance companies to subsidize workplace CSAs in the same way they’re starting to subsidize gym memberships.
Source:
FarmToWork.org
ecotip
Eco-Beach Blast Sustainable Ways to Enjoy Sand and Surf
When eco-conscious families hit the beach this summer, there’s more to be aware of than just picking up trash like drink containers, wrappers and found litter. Here are some other ways we can enhance our beach and water experiences while upping fi tness benefi ts.
Rising water levels and severe
weather events have damaged coastlines, so extra care is needed. When setting up a beach spot, stay away from sand dunes and pockets of beach grass that serve as natural defenses against beach erosion.
Also watch out for marked-off turtle hatching spots; prime nesting season is May through October, according to the nonprofi t Turtle Conservancy. Teach kids not to chase birds. Walk around shorebirds to cause minimal disturbance; it’s stressful dodging danger during meals and wastes precious energy stores. Walking on soft sand is like a weight-training workout, as detailed in Michael Sandler and Jessica Lee’s Barefoot Walking book. Polluting chemicals enter waterways via fertilizer and industry runoff and accidents like the BP Gulf oil spill; don’t contribute more by using sunscreen that contains oxybenzine, which reportedly alters hormone function. The Environmental Working Group (
ewg.org) maintains an online guide of safe sunscreens. The Huffi ngton Post also suggests that we can make our own by mixing zinc oxide (a sunblocking agent), coconut oil (soothes and conditions skin), beeswax (for waterproofi ng) and tea tree oil (soothes and repairs skin and smells good). The same care applies to chemical hair dyes, shampoos, conditioners and
straighteners. Patronize clean, green salons that use natural hair treatments free of synthetic chemicals, ammonia or para-phenylenediamine (PPD). Or search “nontoxic hair care” online.
Plan a visit to coincide with a public volunteer beach cleanup event. Check with national organizations like Keep America Beautiful (
kab.org) and local or countywide groups, as well as social media sites for group activities.
July 2016
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