Graduated!

After what felt like 3 very long years, I am finished my undergraduate degree! My time at school has been filled with volunteering, activism, work and a whole lot of learning...most of which I could attribute to outside of the classroom. I learned the most from the activities and work I did with the University Farmers Market, PGPIRG and working with Meal Exchange that will apply to my life outside of school. The fancy piece of paper that I will be paying off for the foreseeable future may not be what I anticipated going into University but the experiences I gained are invaluable and I don't regret for a minute returning to school. For me it was a time of self-discovery that allowed me to explore my interests and build skills. Everyone has a different experience at the end of the day but for me it was the right time and place to continue on this life long learning adventure. Go to school, don't go to school and you can still learn to be a better person, citizen and neighbour to those around you.

Having fast-tracked through a 4-year degree in 3 years time while working multiple jobs and being really involved, I am exhausted. What are you going to do with an Environmental studies degree was the biggest question I asked myself this year. But without missing a beat I packed up my worldly processions, (having given away most of them) and moved down to Vancouver Island. I am relocating to the Nanaimo/Parksville area to work on an organic farm for the summer. After going from a fast pace environment in Toronto, to a busy bee in Prince George I will now be moving at a slower pace in the country side. This presents both challenges and opportunities for me to explore the kind of lifestyle I want to lead and ultimately discover what will allow me to live simply. This area boasts lots of fresh, organic produce, tons of farmers markets, ocean access and a more southern climate. All of these things make me feel like this is the place for me, for the next little while at least.

This transitional time has also been very disruptive to routine and when you travel you are forced to explore communities to find local, sustainable options again. Leaving my comfort zone in Prince George was at first a welcome idea but I already miss knowing where the fair trade coffee is everyday. I also bought my first car, begrudgingly, to move with and drove more in a week than I have in my entire life. I am on a month long vacation and off to Europe to celebrate in the least environmentally way possible by taking a cruise. I will spend the rest of the summer working off my carbon emissions and negating the impact of this month's movement.

These changes will hopefully turn out for the better but only time will tell what is next on this journey for me, work, grad school, life? For now I will continue eating locally, reducing my impact and enjoying life.

Lots of Love,

Melanie XX

"You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your tickets to change the world."  -Tom Brokaw

Why You Should STOP Catering Your Events

With the holidays behind us it is time to reflect on the absurdities of excess we experienced over the holiday season. The biggest one of all being all that leftover food that gets thrown out from parties and events when there is just sooo much leftover.

Food Waste in Canada

I'm sure you've heard by now that food waste is a major issue, with up to 40% of all food that is produced being wasted. A lot of waste that we see, especially in an institution, is from catered events and conferences. Catering has systemic issues of processing. The age old custom of ensuring you have enough food to feed everyone has turned into an industry practice. Kitchens will now prepare 10-20%  more food than was ordered to ensure they're is enough if everyone on the guest list shows up and in case there are extra people. Combine this with the often tendency of the organizer to order enough food for how many people you invited instead of realistically how many will pull through in the end. This can be as much as 20-30% higher than the actual attendance of the event. This means you can be left with up to 50% extra food being made than needed...time a million events is a lot of food! What happens to that food? Well if it is served food that is left out, it has to be thrown in the garbage!!!! Because it is no longer food safe or allowed to be donated.

Food Rescued from the garbage

Ok I'll admit that the portion of waste associated with conference and events is less than consumers waste at home (47% of food was is from the consumer). But it's still a big enough number that we should do something about it.

So what can you do?

• Order less, order 20% less than you think you will need to ensure no food is left over 
• Consider lighter fair, smaller amounts of food that can be more easily eaten 
• Ask for half, the kitchen can hold back a portion of the food, food that is prepared but not served can still be donated or reused in the kitchen. 
• Bring containers, or ask for take out containers so guests can take leftovers home. Otherwise, they will be thrown out.
•  Don't order! Have drinks instead or try potluck style for less formal events. 

Or maybe you could be like me and run around trying to salvage leftovers before caterers return to dispose of them ;) Yum!

Enjoy,

Melanie XX

"Waste not, Want not" -Proverb

How I Paid Off my Credit Cards by Going Local

Today was a good day. Today I paid off the last dollar on my last credit card, a card that has carried a balance since I got it in 2008. I made a goal this year of paying off ½ of my credit card hoping the sacrifices I was making as a Locavore would pay off. And it did! In 10 months I have paid off my entire card!

I got my first credit card on my 18th Birthday to book plane tickets to Ireland. By the time I left on the trip I had maxed it out. The next year, I applied for a second credit card with another bank...and then a third, low interest card. These cards funded important causes like the Melanie goes to the Dominic Republic fund,  Melanie moves to Europe foundation and the all important Coach purse investments. That's when the eye opener hit me, I had accumulated over $10,000 in credit card debt. Any money I saved I used to travel thus the cycle of debt continued and my balance has remained quite high since. Until now.

Here are some of the ways going local has helped me reduce my debt and maybe how it can help you: 

• Buy less
• Reducing your overall consumption is the best possible way to go and that means keeping more $$$ for other things. Those impulse buys like Starbucks and Target are off the table when you only shop local. I still get treats from the market though ;) 
• Buy better
• Better quality purchases have cut down on my cost of replacing items over and over again. Spending a little more money on things that are hand made or from local business's pays off when it lasts 10x longer then the Wal-Mart equivalent. 
• Make your passion work for you
• I have been so lucky to find work doing the things I am interested and passionate about. Managing the University Farmers Markets means I get paid to be where I love which is also where I shop and get to know lovely people. 
• Freegan it up
• I have been pretty active in collecting food waste when I find it and over time this adds up to savings on my grocery bill. I would say nearly ½ of my diet has been food that would other wise have gone in the garbage. I have also foraged for wild foods ( Going Wild) and grown my own produce to help save. 
• Credit Union



Notankers.ca

• Switching banks has helped me save even more money (Putting your money where your mouth is), I switched to a local credit union and don't pay fee's for storing my money now. Integris has been helpful in my personal life as well as housing business accounts for my work and helping me save money as a student. 
• Travel
• Instead of buying flights I spent money exploring beautiful British Columbia this year. I saved again when I used Couchsurfing and AirBnB for my accommodation instead of booking into a corporate hotel. 
• Biking
• If you drive or take the bus to get around, biking will help save you money on transportation. This is year I've biked my legs off and see the benefits on my wallet and my waist line. 
• Healthier
• Eating better food and being more active has also made me healthier. I don't use any medications anymore including my asthma inhaler and even shy away from Tylenol for headaches choosing natural remedies and keeping my money away from grubby pharmaceutical companies and in savings. 

I have become a better spender now, and learnt that I want to live within my means and ultimately be debt free. In 3 years of University I will have a whole new set of debt to worry about and I am just grateful that now I can focus on debt from my education and be free from my big scary credit card, forever! 

Happy spending,

Melanie XX

"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy local, and that's kind of the same." -Unknown 

From Party Girl to Locavore

2007

A wise teacher of mine sent me an article called: From Drunk Dude to Dude Making a Difference, to show I wasn't alone in my struggle to live better. And after reading I realized how far I had come from a corporate, self centred urbanite to...well a locavore. I wasn't necessarily a drunk chick and my house is way bigger than a shed but I can definitely see a bit of me in this blog. I worked in corporate sales for and airline, partied with my friends, ate crappy food, shopped all my money away (and built debt) and Toronto was my whole world. I might have still been doing that today if heart break and boredom did not push me to make a change.

2008

I travelled (nothing new there lots of people do this everyday day), I ate meat, breaking from my decade long vegetarian diet and I had experiences. Travelling expanded my horizons and made me think more about others, made me realize possibilities and allowed me to be who I wanted to be. When I returned to Canada I had a goal of learning more and finding out what I wanted to dedicate my life to.

2009

University has been a trans-formative experience for me. Not only have I changed most of my consumer behaviours but I am closer to finding a 'calling' then I have ever been before. Turning my interests into work and manoeuvring the student life had changed me for the better. I began to care, about something other than myself.

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Ok, so I haven't changed entirely (as you can see from the photos) but how far it seems I've come from my old self. Instead of hopping on the subway I bike, instead of designer purses I thrift, instead of creating debt I am eliminating it and instead of sugary cocktails I drink local wines and beers. I care about something other than my own existence and work at making the world a better place.

2014

This year as a Locavore has changed me too. Learning there is another way to live is the first step in changing yourself. Ten months later I know the end of my challenge is approaching but I don't feel like it will deter me from the lifestyle I have come to appreciate.


Have a lovely day,

Melanie XX

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself" - Leo Tolstoy

10 things only a Locavore can understand

Lot's of people struggle with fitting time to cook and shop into their busy schedules. Cut out the convenience of a grocery store and the ease of ready made foods and you are a little closer to some of the struggles that I and others who endeavour to live local face on a daily basis. Here are 10 things that living as a locavore I have come to understand:

Small bills are my fav!

1. $$ Cash $$
• I always carry lots of cash now as most places I shop are market stalls. I actually like eyeing my money and being able to budget better this way but I run out of cash all the time.
2. Local booze!!!!
• When I discovered Red Neck Rye, a BC whisky at the liquor store I thought I had died and gone to heaven! The first few months of this journey I drank a lot of BC beer as I had not yet discovered the beauty that is BC spirits. The difficulty I still have with this is finding the right mix, for instance the only locally made Soda I know of is from Cariboo and they only have Ginger-ale and Root beer, thus my go to as of late has been Rye and Ginger's a la local. 
3. Why isn't the farmers market open everyday? 

• Only buying local products by shopping from local business's gets tricky during the week when you have a busy schedule. The University Farmer's Market is every Tuesday and we are lucky enough to have the Prince George Farmers Market on Saturdays so it isn't too hard to stock up twice a week but if you miss one or the other sometimes you go a day eating just potatoes...
4. The thrill of finding a new local product
• When Home Sweet Home brings in a new type of cheese or a long forgotten favourite (like Tomatoes!!!!!) you have no idea how excited I get! 
5. Taking care of things...you might not be able to find its replacement
• I am very nice to my stuff, I have been mending a lot of cloths, I take shoes to the cobbler and treat things better. Making your stuff last longer saves so much money and the planet. 
6. Insatiable food cravings

• Sometimes I crave mayonnaise...It's weird because it's not like I used a lot of the stuff before this year but not being able to have a jar on stand by sometimes makes me crazy. I also crave foods that are out of season like broccoli and lettuce that are harder to find here. (Would die for an avocado!)
7. Learning to say no is really hard
• Want to grab midnight Denny's? Want to hit the Mall? Go to a movie? Saying no sometimes feels very limiting. 
8. Food prep times
• Every Sunday I cook a few meals so I will have food during the week. What I find is when you are buying a lot of raw foods you inevitable take on more food preparation time as a result. Taking the time to make food instead of having everything ready for you is both a challenge and a change but a great way to know exactly what it is you are eating.
9. Living in constant fear of cheating 
• Sometimes I have dreams about shopping at the mall and then needing to return everything because it wasn't local...When I was sick in February I bought a bag of Fishermen Friends by accident.
10. Rationing

• At the beginning of the year my cupboards were full of the usual necessities, flour, sugar baking soda. These things that I have committed to not purchase this year have become very dear to me....I just ran out of sugar... for the year!  Replacing it with local honey is fine, its just an adjustment. So I have become more careful about sharing things, I need to be able to get through the week, the month, and the year and may only have a limited amount of certain things like olive oil or sugar.  

I hope this doesn't sound like complaining as to be quite honest, I am loving every minute of this but am hoping that through the struggles the benefits will be so much sweeter. 

XX Melanie

"Every time you spend money you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want." -Anna Lappe

Walking the line

With my University recently on strike I was suddenly put in a scenario where throwing all of your eggs into one basket can have negative effects on every aspect of your life. After more then two weeks off of school I can safely say I have have watched more then my fair share of Netflix, caught up on enough sleep to get me through the year and eaten all the junk food in my cupboards. Being off of school also means I am out of work as I have taken up all of my jobs on campus. Not only is my routine totally thrown off by being home for weeks I am also cut off from my finances and social world. Pairing the strike and the preceding two week winter break (an extra week to support the Canada Winter Games held in Prince George) means that I have been off of work for over a month.

The direct effects so far, apart from obvious classes being cancelled, also trickle into what I have discovered was a very precarious situation I have set for myself. I shop weekly at the University Farmers Market, which we had to cancel as to not cross the picket lines (#solidarity). Because I buy only what I need week to week, I have had to go downtown and shop outside of my normal vendors. This will effect there business's and livelihoods as well as my own as I am spending more then usual. The UFM is also a job for me and missing out on that work and events we had planned will impact the other people we employ and vendors who come out weekly.  I am also effected because all of my jobs, my only sources of income are all on campus. I work 2 shifts a week for the campus coffee shop which was closed for the duration of the strike. I also work for PGPIRG as the local foods coordinator and had planned a Good Food Box that due the strike has been postponed, and because of that have had to cancel next months box, which will mean less pay for me (probably half) for this month and next month.

Losing the Good Food Box as a source of inexpensive produce for the month means that I have had to shop for more produce at a higher price then I had budgeted. At this time of year buying groceries is slightly more expensive as food is out of season and harder to come by, thus being out of money I am trying to be resourceful with my eating choices whilst trying to maintain my local only diet. This means cutting back on extravagances, like my favourite organic cheese that is about $10.00 a block at Ave Maria's , or any cheese at all for me. Still this lifestyle at times is more expensive then the average consumers diet and not being able to afford to continue purchasing good food I was driven to visit the campus food bank to grab a few cupboard items to tie me over.

In short, less money and more expenses makes Mel a broke girl.

I am not blaming the strike on anyone, it happened, but I was not prepared for how much it would effect me and how fine a line I walk. Heading back to class tomorrow (and to work) I am looking forward to moving forward with the end of this years studies and regaining my financial stability and seeing all of my friends at the Farmers Market again!

Have a great week!

Melanie

"No one benefits from a strike." Chaz Bickers