SuStainable PhiladelPhia

towardS a

november 2009 / issue 9 gridPhilly.com

Made In PhIlly

Stylish, sustainable clothing, manufactured in Center City[ page 16 ]

recycle your old computer safely

[ page 9 ]

↗Sarah Van aken, owner of sa Va Fashion

How prisoners help feed the hungry[ page 12 ]

CIty harvestt a k e o n e !

designing sustainable brands.

www.barbergale.com1. bonfire brand, coined by John Olson – OLSON & Company

BarberGale

We are a brand communications firm designing sustainable brands that resonate with authenticity, and are fueled with integrity. These brands can become bonfires1, attracting the relationships and customers they seek, and creating advocates who tell their stories for them. We help businesses produce sustainable returns that come from a genuine focus on seeking social, environmental, and economic prosperity.

Take advantage of Pennsylvania's New Solar Rebate program! When the new rebates are combined with the recently expanded federal taxcredits, and other financing that Eos can arrange for you, solar now costsless than conventional power. Now you can reduce your carbon footprintand save money. No money down arrangements available.

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3noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.com

publisherAlex Mulcahy

215.625.9850 ext. 102 alex@gridphilly.com

assistant to the publisher

Tim Mulcahy tim@gridphilly.com

art directorJamie Leary

jamie@gridphilly.com

distributionClaire Connelly

215.625.9850 ext. 114

copy editorsAndrew Bonazelli

Patty Moran

production artistLucas Hardison

internGrace Antonini

customer serviceMark Evans

mark@gridphilly.com 215.625.9850 ext. 105

writersGrace Antonini

Dynise Balcavage Bernard Brown

Ed Coffin Claire Connelly

Tara Mataraza Desmond Lucas Hardison

Natalie Hope McDonald Liz Robinson

Lee Stabert Char Vandermeer

Judy Wicks Samantha Wittchen

photographersLucas Hardison

Albert Yee

illustratorsJ.P. Flexner

Kirsten Harper Melissa McFeeters

published byRed Flag Media

1032 Arch Street, 3rd Floor Philadelphia, PA 19107

215.625.9850

g r i d P h i l ly . c o m

Rock onRegardless of how this World Series

turns out, watching the Phillies, and the city’s transformation, has been magical. Bit-

ter and pessimistic fans have become believers; the team itself is fearless. Anyone who doubts that peo-ple can change—or that mindsets can shift—should look no further than our beloved Fightin’ Phils.

The quest for sustainability isn’t quite as concrete as the quest for greatness in sports. What many find maddening (and exciting) about sustainability is that there isn’t a single answer to our problems. It won’t be a matter of changing the chemical we use in our air conditioners or using fewer aerosols—it’s more complicated than that. While we’re eating local foods, we need to insulate our homes. We need to buy less and recycle more. We need business that respects nature and a society that values people.

Grid attempts to illustrate how multifaceted and dynamic the sustainability movement is in Philadel-phia. In this issue, topics include gardening, com-posting, transportation, energy, recycling, ar-chitecture, fashion and food. Clearly, there’s a lot going on.

The question is: How do these disparate efforts relate to each other? When you throw a rock into a body of water, ripples pulse out from where it lands until they get weaker and the water returns to its original calm. But when a well-placed rock rolls down the right hill, a momentum builds, jostling all of its fellow rocks into motion, creating an undeniable force. Allow me to return to the sports metaphor for a moment. Teams with a good player

or two make ripples. The Phillies are an avalanche. (For the sake

Printed in the usa on Leipa’s 43.9 lb Ultra Mag gloss paper. It’s 100% recycled, 80% from post-consumer waste.

coVer photo by albert yee

of this essay, we’re going to consider avalanches a good thing.)

There are those who imagine Philly as a future hub for eco-fashion. And there are those who re-member when, just a few decades ago, Philadel-phia was a manufacturing powerhouse. Could the launch of Sa Va Fashion, Sarah Van Aken’s locally-manufactured clothing line, be the catalyst for a renaissance of in-city apparel production?

Another potential avalanche is the City Harvest program that the Pennsylvania Horticultural So-ciety, SHARE and the Philadelphia Prison System have partnered to create. What an inspired idea to give people who have stumbled meaningful work while bringing healthy food to people in need. What if the number of gardens participating in this pro-gram was 400 instead of 41? City Harvest is a model of self-reliance and, from a human perspective, a closed-loop model where there is no waste. It’s what

smart businesses and communities are striving to create.

Our back page this month is written by Judy Wicks, a woman who’s been rolling

stones to great effect for some time. It’s dif-ficult to imagine the sustainability scene with-

out her. Without the model she provided with the White Dog, I wouldn’t have considered launching this magazine. There are two stories in this very issue which are directly linked to her. The Fair Food Farm Stand, which she founded, has tripled in size, and Judy’s daughter Grace, an accomplished gardener, is a sustainable entrepreneur herself. I should mention that Sa Va is a member of the Sus-tainable Business Network, another vital organiza-tion Judy founded.

When Judy began, little did she know the impact her efforts would have. It makes you wonder: What is happening today that will one day amaze us, and our children? As I write these notes, the Phillies are up 1-0 on a very good team. What will happen next? We don’t know, but it sure feels good to be alive right now.

Alex J. MulcahyPublisheralex@gridphilly.com

4 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com

RECIPIENT OFTHE USGBCAWARD 2009

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

A COLLABORATIVE,

MULTIDISCIPLINARY

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

PhiladelphiaUniversity

VISIT

Become proficient

in Green Building Materials,

Energy Efficiency,

Construction Systems and

Sustainable Design

“The principle of sustainability

is reshaping the way we think

about the world, encouraging

us to improve the way

we design, build and live

in the 21st century”

— Rob Fleming,

Program Director

Photography by Tom Crane & Dean Gazzo

www.PhilaU.edu/greengrid

Word on the Street Shoe Fits

I was happy to read that Dansko has a local presence. I try to buy all my clothes and shoes from those made in the USA.

But when I went to the Natural Shoe Store (also mentioned in your September issue) to buy a pair of Dansko clogs, all shoes were made in China. I asked the owner of the store and she knew of no brand made in the USA.

I am confused. Are Dansko shoes made in the USA? If not, then why does it matter that their headquarters are local? It is nice that their build-ing is LEED certified but if the shoes are made in China, how is a consumer contributing to our local economy?

Thank you for making such a great publica-tion. I read it cover to cover. —pouné saberi

Dansko shoes are not manufactured locally—their factories are in Italy, Brazil and China—but we de-cided to work with them for several reasons. First, Dansko are good members of the community. They have policies that encourage their employees to do volunteer work, and they have also hosted their township’s only Community Recycling Station where local residents can recycle unwanted cans, glass containers, plastics, paper, flattened cardboard and other recyclable waste. It is clear that they care about where they are. Beyond that, Dansko makes every effort to use environmentally and socially re-sponsible business practices. They are using more and more recycled materials (there are talks of a fully compostable shoe) and continue to follow a mission that uses for-profit business to effect social change. They are a privately-owned company (so there is no board of directors demanding profit at all costs) that is taking steps that directly impact their community and the environment, providing a sustainable work-place for their 150 local employees. —A.M.

have something you’d like to share? Write to us at feedback@gridphilly.com

don’t forget, you can read back issues online at gridphilly.com

Eco-facilitators helps your organization develop ideas and facilitate changes in how you work by identifying fundamental convictions amongst your staff and building a measurable accountability plan to help your organization achieve positive environmental change.

Sing for your Succulents

I read Emily Schu’s story on plant therapy [Grid Issue 8] and wanted to share ours, too. I am a retired nurse who now vol-

unteers in the greenhouse at St. Joseph’s Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Hunting-don Valley. Previously it had been used to grow and sell plants and tomatoes and is now a true “resident greenhouse.” Along with the sup-port of the activity staff and the groundskeeper we have a horticulture program where each unit in the nursing home participates, even the dementia residents. We, too, do flower arrang-ing, plant propagation and stone making where staff, residents and visitors alike can enjoy it. The Manor has a “give back” program and this past spring the residents planted herbs, tomatoes, etc. and gave them back to their caregivers and fami-lies. For the wheelchair bound residents we have a long table sitting along one greenhouse window where the chairs fit with ease for planting or just enjoying the view. Soon we hope to have piped in music—we use a CD player now—because the residents love to sing along, and, I tell them, “that’s good for the plants.” Someday I hope to have a horticultural therapist for our greenhouse to help us determine which gardening activities are suitable for the residents and, in the mean-time, we’ll just keep doing what we’re doing to bring joy and a sense of peace to everyone! —sara pera

5noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.comphoto by albert yee

Elbow Room at the Farmstandthe Fair Food Farmstand triples in size

The new and improved Fair Food Farmstand cel-ebrated its grand opening on October 2, after months of diligent planning and construction. The Farmstand’s

new home, on the 12th Street side of the Reading Terminal Mar-ket, provides more space and visibility for the ever-growing hub of locally-sourced foods.

No longer tucked away in a cramped corner, the new location offers three times the amount of space for produce and twice as much freezer space. It can accommodate more customer traf-fic and is illuminated by natural light through the 12th Street windows.

Customers and staff are thrilled with the expansion. “Our core customers have been blown away,” says Fair Food’s Em-ily Gunther. “They remember when we were just on a folding table once a week.”

Fair Food brought in Re:Vision Architecture, a local green planning and consulting architectural firm, to ensure that the new design would be functional and in line with their sustain-able mission. Jeremy Avellino, who managed the project, want-ed to help Fair Food plan for future growth. “It was important for the design to be adaptable over time,” Avellino says. All of the produce “arks” are on wheels and can be easily shifted around. Even the refrigerators are moveable.

Salvaged chalkboards, reclaimed wood (including telephone poles) and all-natural milk paint were just some of the envi-ronmentally-friendly resources used to construct Fair Food’s new home.

The Fair Food Farmstand is now open seven days a week, Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

· food · policy · craft · news · design and more

The local food movement is reaching beyond Philadelphia’s progressive cafés into one of our oldest institutions.

The University of Pennsylvania strives to source 25 percent of their food locally year-round, and close to 50 percent during peak growing season. “We consistently look for opportunities to add local options to our menu,” says Marie Witt, Vice President of Penn’s Division of Business Services. “Next year our [year-round] goal is 35 percent.”

Penn recently brought in Bon Appétit Management Company to replace Aramark in their cafeteria opera-tions and to help further their commitment to sustain-ability and social responsibility. “Our intent is to con-tinue to build more relationships in the community in

line with our philosophy, now that we have joined with Bon Appétit,” says Witt.

The University was a charter member of the Fair Food Farm-to-Institution program, and has been a longtime supporter of the Common Market, a distributor of food produced in Philadelphia, and Slow Food, an interna-tional educational organization dedicated to sustainable food. They believe buying local, seasonal and sustain-able ingredients preserves flavor and regional diversity, and also ensures peak nutritional value in each meal.

According to Witt, it’s also about supporting the local economy. “Penn has a strong commitment to economic inclusion. Purchasing our foods locally allows us to develop and nurture mutually beneficial relationships with local, family farmers.”

Higher Education Meets Higher Nutritionthe university of Pennsylvania sources more local food for their cafeterias

fair food executive

director ann Karlen cuts a

cornhusk ribbon and welcomes

customers to the new farmstand

map it!thinking of

relocating to a new philly neighborhood,

but unsure if it’s accessible to your favorite amenities by foot? check out

walkshed.org, a new online application

that calculates and maps the walkability of any neighborhood

in the city.

Word on the Street

6 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com photo by lucas hardison

Philly Electric Wheelswheels that won’t make you tired—unless you want them to

There was a collective sigh of relief from Philly’s bike commuters when extrawide lanes were painted on Pine and Spruce Streets. Traveling across Center City for work or pleasure is now a lot easier! But what about getting up

those hills in West Philly, Manayunk or Mt. Airy? You want to shop at the local co-op, but carrying groceries uphill by bike is more than a workout—it’s exhausting!

Philly Electric Wheels (aptly nicknamed PHEW) opened in Mt. Airy this October to solve that problem for bike lovers. “My wife had a hard time finding the right bike,” says PHEW owner Afshin Kaighobady. “When we’d ride together, I had to wait for her at the top of the hill.” The discovery of electric bikes changed their riding relationship. “Now we can ride together!” he says.

Kaighobady wanted to make this effective form of transportation accessible not only to his wife, but the entire community. PHEW is the first store in the area to sell and service electric bikes exclusively. They carry a wide selection of durable, reliable models, including cruisers, folding bikes and even tricycles. Kaighobady encourages everyone to stop by for a test-ride. “Everybody’s really excited about this,” he says. “They love the way it feels. We won’t be able to stop you from riding electric bicycles!”

550 carpenter ln., open wed., thurs., fri. 1 p.m. – 7 p.m., sat. and sun., →11 a.m. – 5 p.m., phillyelectricwheels.com

/new business All-Women PaintingPaint for a healthy home

Zsuzsi Apati has always had a knack for redecorating. As a child, she painted and re-painted her bedroom regularly—it drove her

parents crazy. The hobby of her youth evolved into All-Women Painting, a woman-owned-and-operated business that specializes in interior painting using all non-toxic materials. Most paints contain VOCs (Vola-tile Organic Compounds), which can be damaging to humans and the environment. Apati avoids these toxins at all costs. “Paints and finishes release toxic emissions into the air for years after application,” she says. “I am using non-toxic paint for my clients’ health, their pets’ and kids’ health, and for my health, too.” Apati, who started the business after complet-ing an apprenticeship in Europe, loves being able to transform the interiors of Philadelphia—her favorite American city. To her, it’s more than just painting; it’s making a home, without polluting the air. “I feel like it’s my home after the three or four days I spend there, and I’m just as happy as my clients.”

neighborhire.com/allwomenpaintin → g

Bennett Compost a composting solution for the urban dweller

Many Philadelphians have considered composting, but feel restricted by the con-fines of city living. You know it’s the en-

vironmentally responsible thing to do, but find the process inconvenient—it’s a hard project to start in your studio apartment with no outdoor space. That’s where Bennett Compost comes in. The organic waste management company provides weekly pick-ups of compost materials from Philadelphia residents.

Tim Bennett, who struggled with a lack of com-posting space himself, started the business in June. He hopes to make it as convenient as possible for his clients. “People want to find a cleaner way to use these materials,” he states. “Most of them have tried composting before, but found it too difficult.” Bennett provides containers and then picks up the contents each week. “You don’t even have to be home. Some people leave the container on their stoop; one client leaves it with her doorman.”

The gathered materials are put to good use. Ben-nett Compost has partnered with a community garden that hosts bins and uses the finished compost to grow vegetables.

Curious about whether composting is right for you? Bennett Compost will be at Ultimo Coffee Bar, 15th & Mifflin, on November 14, from 1 p.m. – 5 p.m., buying cups of coffee for those who want to talk about com-post and the company’s services.

See website for details and a full list of compostable items.

bennettcompost.co → m

phew owner afshin Kaighobady explains the electric bike.

7noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.com

US Carbon Emissions Are Down— Now It’s Time to Get to Work

energy

many of us are already changing our habits to cut down on the energy we waste, but as noted by blue line innovations, “when the only feedback is a monthly bill, it’s dif-ficult [for consumers] to link their actions

directly to savings.” enter the powercost monitor. participants in a pilot program conducted over the course of two years reduced their electricity usage by 18 percent.

the installation and setup instructions are simple enough. Just be sure to take note of the “power factor” listed on your home’s meter when you attach the sensor device, especially if a return trip to your meter involves a harrowing ride on a rickety old freight elevator and a creepy unlit basement. the sensor reads your meter and sends a wireless signal to the handheld unit, which displays real-time data on your electricity usage. input your billing rates and you’ll see right away how much mon-ey you’re spending. pretty handy for training responsible young energy consumers.

maybe kilowatt-hours don’t mean squat to the kids, but everyone understands dollars and cents. now you really can tell them for the last time to turn out the lights. —Lucas Hardison

blue line innovations powercost monitor, $119, → bluelineinnovations.com

While much of this improvement is cer-tainly due to the economic slowdown, it is also true that clean energy policies are starting to work: renewable portfolio standards, appli-ance efficiency standards, “cash for clunkers” and many others. The projections from the Earth Policy Institute are that greenhouse

gas emission reductions will reach 12 percent by 2010. That’s a great start.

What has to happen now, now that we realize it is pos-sible to reduce carbon emis-sions, is a redoubling of effort so that we decouple economic activity from pollution. We must develop a clean energy economy. This will require broad-scale implementation of a series of clean energy policies and practices, includ-ing energy efficiency retrofits to existing buildings; homes, businesses, public buildings

and schools all need to reduce consumption as rapidly as possible. Fuel switching, par-ticularly from fuel oil to natural gas, should be encouraged. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), a.k.a.

“stimulus,” is pumping billions of dollars into a wide range of energy efficiency improve-ments across America. (Perhaps the website that tracks spending could also track the en-ergy savings that result from these funds.) These efforts are creating lasting change and laying the foundation for a new clean energy economy.

The city’s Greenworks Philadelphia Plan is a good framework. Its goal of retrofitting 15 percent of all buildings in the city by 2015 is an ambitious start. The passage of PA Act 129 requires every electric utility in Pennsylvania to save electricity. PECO has already kicked off its programs with the launch of their CFL (compact fluorescent lightbulb) discount, through which CFLs will be discounted by $1 or $2 at select retailers. Energy Coordinating Agency is conducting 200 workshops across the city, teaching people how to save energy in their homes and distributing free weath-erization supplies. All of these initiatives, small and large, are beginning to combine into something measurable. Local initiatives like these all across the country are building the awareness, expertise, commitment and momentum we need to take clean energy to scale. ■+

blue line innovations PowerCost Monitor

gridtested

When we look back on 2009, we might realize that this was the year America started on the path to a sustainable future. There are finally a number of positive developments,

and every week brings more good news. Carbon emissions are declining in the US—in fact, they’re down 9 percent since 2007! Electricity sales are down 1.1 percent since 2008, coal is down 11 percent since 2007, oil is down 10 percent. Relatively low prices for natural gas have electric power generators switching from coal to the cleaner fossil fuel. Vehicle miles traveled are off 4.3 percent.

special gue st column

liz robinson is the executive director of the energy coordinating agency (eca), a local nonprofit. eca’s mission is to help people conserve energy and to work toward a sustainable and equitable energy future for all in the philadelphia region.

photo by sarah green

8 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com photo by lucas hardison

Keith Russell shows me two white-throated spar-rows and an ovenbird, all dead, at 5:30 a.m., when I meet him at 19th and Market. Russell, the Pennsylvania

Audubon Society’s Fairmount Park Outreach Coordinator, had found the three migrants just on his walk over from the bus stop. “It’s a good night for birds to migrate,” he observes with a sigh. “Clear and chilly.”

/profile

The first time I met Russell, two years ago, he was wielding binoculars at an environmental festival in North Philly, connecting residents with the wildlife of Fairmount Park East. Since then, he’s been juggling a range of conserva-tion projects; Sunday morning, when we meet, he’s working on an Audubon/Philadelphia Zoo/Academy of Natural Sciences partnership studying the problem of migrating birds flying into buildings. By surveying the same route before and just after sunrise, the study attempts to quantify how many birds die by day, by attempting to fly through glass, ver-sus by night, either hit-ting objects they don’t see or drawn in by lights.

At 5:45 a.m., Russell picks up a palm warbler, a delicate gray and yel-low bird. We find a her-mit thrush and another ovenbird before sunrise, both still supple and warm. “The city birds have learned,” Russell remarks. “These other birds have never encoun-tered glass.”

It’s no fun for a man who loves birds to col-lect their corpses. Rus-sell happily rattles off a list of other species Center City residents can observe alive, from robins and swifts to rap-tors, including peregrine

falcons. The Germantown resident and committed urbanite (he doesn’t drive) has been a bird fanatic since his grade school days in Mt. Airy.

If you say “birder,” I think of well-off, suburban white people running around exotic locales with expensive telephoto lenses. I mention this to Russell, who is African-American and devoted to bird-ing in a racially diverse city with a high poverty rate. “That’s why Audubon is in Philadelphia. We’re interested in reach-ing an audience we haven’t reached in the past.” Russell proudly points out

that Philadelphians can find over 100 species of birds without leaving the city. “You give people a chance to open their minds. You show them a red-bellied woodpecker, and they say, ‘I didn’t even know that was here.’ That’s the kind of eureka moment we’re go-ing for.”

The sun is up as we walk the route one more time and conclude the survey. It is almost 8 a.m. when we set off for the Academy of Natural Sciences to deposit the dead birds for later study. Russell points out the beautiful white-throated sparrow chirping and zipping around us in a pocket park off Market Street. ■+

reduCe bIrd CollIsIons turn out your lights at night, russell advises, and hang blinds to cut back on daytime collisions. bird silhouette stick-ers don’t work. you can also buy window glass or stick-on film with ultraviolet stripes transparent to us but visible as barriers to birds. both are new prod-ucts, promising but not entirely proven yet. bird feeders should be less than three feet away from windows so if birds take off in the wrong direction, they hit at low speed.

Want to learn More about PhIladelPhIa bIrds? get a good set of binoculars and a field guide; russell recommends The Sibley Guide to Birds for beginners.

get outside! philadelphia is blessed with the bird-life-rich Fairmount park system, arboretums and the John heinz national wildlife refuge. our local bird clubs sponsor fre-quent free outings.

connect with local birders through the delaware Valley ornithological club dvoc.org or the wyncote audubon society wyncoteaudubon.org.

For the Birdsthe audubon Society’s Keith russell tracks migrating birds felled by windows by bernard brown

9noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.comillustration by J.p. Flexner

Let’s be honest. Did you purchase a Gateway 2000 back in 1991 because you simply couldn’t resist those Holstein cow spots on the packaging? And now where is it? If you’re like

many Americans, it’s probably waiting for a better home in a corner of your basement with your old Zenith console TV and the world’s oldest laptop computer. According to the EPA’s most recent statistics of computers, monitors, peripherals and televisions sold between 1980 and 2007, approximately 235 million units have been accumulated in storage, and that number doesn’t even take into account old audio equipment and cellular devices.

Your Computertwo organizations ready to rid you of your commodore 64

Many Philadelphians understand that they should recycle these unwanted elec-tronic products, but this poses another problem. Where can they take e-waste to ensure that it will be recycled properly and not shipped to a third world country?

Enter the Institution Recycling Network (IRN), which partners with organizations to sponsor Weird Waste Days. “IRN has been handling e-waste for 10 years, and it has never been exported,” states Ann King-Musza of IRN. The most recent Weird Waste Day they organized with the Mt. Airy Business Association brought in six tons of e-waste in three hours. The September event cost contributors 32 cents per pound of electronics they brought for recycling, but properly deconstructing electronics is a labor-intensive process, and that cost ensures that it’s done right.

IRN does a lot of outreach before events to inform the public that e-waste will be

deconstructed responsibly. They have a stringent process for auditing deconstruc-tion companies, and they have just begun working with Philadelphia-based Eforce Compliance. IRN is partnering with Green in Chestnut Hill (GRINCH), a group inter-ested in furthering sustainable practices in Chestnut Hill, to hold another Weird Waste Day on November 14 at the John Story Jenks Elementary School.

Another environmentally responsible partnership is the one between Goodwill Industries of Southern NJ & Philadelphia and Dell. Together they run Reconnect, a free drop-off program to recycle unwant-ed computer equipment. They accept all brands of computers and peripherals in their donation centers. Goodwill workers, who are typically disadvantaged in the workforce, then sort the equipment based on Dell criteria, and Dell handles the re-mainder of the recycling process.

Three months ago, they expanded the scope of the program beyond their stores,

and now partner with about a dozen New Jersey municipalities to provide

electronics recycling to residents. Bob Hain, the director of the program,

says he eventually hopes to partner with the City of Philadelphia. In

the meantime, Philadelphia residents can take their com-

puter equipment to either of the two Goodwill do-nation centers in South

Philadelphia (Front and Oregon or 22nd

and Passyunk). ■+

by samantha wittchen

12 Green Days of ChristmasOn the twelfth green day of Christmas, my

true love gave to me,

all these and more Eco-friendly gifts available at the

Big Green Earth Store

12 green gift baskets

11 solar chargers

10 iPod speakers

9 hand sanitizers

8 detergent refills

7 magazine purses

6 cases of paper

5 Klean Kanteens

4 Wrap-N Matts

3 banks of tin

2 firestarters

and a plantable christmas tree!

‘s

10 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com

Dried beans are low in fat, high in protein and fiber, and incredibly inexpensive. What keeps most of us from enjoying them is the time and preparation required to make them edible. Fortunately, the process can

be simplified into three easy steps that will have you eating beans in no time!

/how-to

How to Cook Dried BeansPreparing dried beans in three easy steps by ed coffin

Step 1: Selection and InspectionThis is an important step in preparing dried beans, as you don’t want to chomp down on a rock hard bean. Be sure that your beans are purchased from a place that rotates the stock frequently, because beans that are too old may never completely cook. Inspect your beans thoroughly before preparing by discarding any that are broken, browned or abnormal-looking.

Step 2: SoakingSoaking beans breaks down indigestible sugars and makes nutrients available for absorption. There are several methods you can use to soak. One is to cover them with several inches of water and allow them to soak overnight. Alternately, you can cover them with water, boil for five minutes, then let them sit for two hours off the heat. The quickest way is to use a pressure cooker by covering them with water, pressure cooking for five minutes, then allowing them to sit inside the cooker for an additional hour off the heat. After soaking is complete, discard the soaking water and rinse the beans to remove the indigestible sugars that can cause gas.

Step 3: CookingThere’s more than one way to cook a dried bean. One is traditional boiling, by covering the beans with about an inch of water and bringing them to a boil. From there, you turn them down to a simmer, cover, and allow to cook until tender. Or place your soaked beans into the pressure cooker, cover with an inch of water and cook until tender.

Cooking TimesCooking times for dried beans merely serve as guidelines. The only true way to know when they’re done is to test them yourself. You can always cook them longer if need be.

bean type boilingPressure cooking

black 1-1 ½ hours 15-20 mins

garbanzo 2-3 hours 25-30 mins

navy 2-2 ½ hours 15-20 mins

Kidney 1 ½ -2 hours 20-25 mins

pinto 2-2 ½ hours 15-20 mins

Black Bean and Quinoa Chili1 tbsp. olive oil1 onion, diced1 jalapeño, diced (optional)3 cloves garlic, minced1 tsp. ground chipotle1 tsp. cumin1 tsp. chili powder½ tsp. allspice2 tbsp. agave nectar1 tbsp. salt1 lb. diced tomatoes1 6 oz can tomato paste2 cups black beans, cooked½ cup quinoa, uncooked6 cups water

In a large pot, over medium heat, ��

cook the oil, onions, jalapeño, garlic and spices for five minutes. Add the agave, salt, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and sim-mer for 20 minutes.

tiPS

Cooked beans can be frozen →

for later use.Smaller beans like lentils, split →

peas and black-eyed peas do not require soaking.If soaking overnight, refrigerate →

beans to prevent spoilage.Avoid adding salty or acidic →

ingredients during cooking, which toughens the beans.Beans can be cooked in a slow →

cooker for 8-12 hours.

ed coffin cooks, blogs and tweets from Center City, Philadelphia. Check out his recipes at eatingconsciously.com or send him a tweet at vegantwitter.com.

11noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.comphoto by michael colaVita

/architecture

But what is a green roof? Sometimes referred to as “living roofs,” they are conventional roofs that have been covered by a layer of vegetation. These verdant blankets are beneficial to homeowners, businesses and the urban environment. They last longer than conventional roofs and help reduce energy costs by acting as natural insulation. Green roofs also reduce storm-water runoff, help lower urban air temperature and increase wildlife habitation.

There are two types of green roofs: intensive and exten-sive. The intensive variety can resemble elevated parks, with shrubs, trees, even walkways and benches. They require a lot of maintenance, including drainage and irrigation. Extensive green roofs usually don’t function as public gardens and exist for environmental benefits only. They can be established on a very thin layer of soil, compared to the intensive roofs, which require more depth.

Prominent Philadelphia companies and organizations have begun to discover the value of this eco-friendly architecture. Last September, the Free Library’s Parkway Central location unveiled its new green roof—the first green roof on a city-owned building. It encompasses 5,000 square feet on the south side of the building facing Logan Square, including 100 cubic feet of soil and more than 5,400 plants. Several months later, PECO opened its green roof on top of the company’s headquarters at 23rd and Market. It was the largest green roof ever installed on an existing building in an urban area in Philadelphia, totaling more than 45,000 square feet.

Philadelphia passed a green roof tax credit program in 2007, which provides incentives for installing vegetated roofs. Though currently applied to the Business Privilege Tax, which limits qualifying applicants, it’s a step in the right direction to-wards making the installation of green roofs a more accessible project. ■+

Philadelphia continues to receive national recognition for its progressive green initiatives. We’ve been ranked one of the 10 greenest cities in the nation and are making strides towards the top of that list. One notable facet of this citywide greening process is the

growing number of green roofs sprouting up on both public and private buildings.

by claireconnellyWhat Is a Green Roof? aboVe

the vegetated green roof with drought-tolerant plants at montrose green, a newly renovated row-house projected to achieve leed-h platinum certifica-tion. learn more at montrosegreen.blogspot.com

12 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com

uPstaIrs, doWnstaIrsSa Va FaShion bringS buying local to a new leVel story by lee stabert

13noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.comportrait by albert yee

stairs from a posh center city boutique is a small garment factory. There is a hefty metal cutting table along the right wall and a couple rows of sewing

machines. There is a machine that folds collars, and one that attaches clasps to pants. There are huge rolls of fabric, stacked in a kaleidoscope of circles and colors. And there are people making clothes. ¶ Sa Va Fashion is a company that makes what they sell. It sounds like a simple idea—but it’s one that has gone out of practice in recent years. In a building on the 1700 block of Sansom, designer Sarah Van Aken and her staff brainstorm ideas and conceptualize the clothes. Then, in an intimate space across a small hallway from the company’s offices, pieces are cut, sewn and finished. Every day, at least one new item emerges from upstairs to be added to the racks in the ground-floor boutique, which opened for business at the end of September. ¶ Using only fair trade or organic fabrics and producing hyper-locally makes Sa Va a model for 21st century sustainable enterprise. But there is also something decidedly old-school about this paragon of (literally) vertical integration—it harkens back to a time when American cities still made things, and didn’t just sell them.

Van Aken was born outside of Reading. Her grand-parents owned a dairy farm, and her family was always making things. “If we needed a new shed, we just went out and built the shed,” explains Van Aken. “Everyone in my family sewed. My mom used to make all of our clothes growing up, and my grandmother made quilts.”

Van Aken studied ceramics and sculpture at the University of Delaware. After graduation, she moved to New York, where she worked an entry-level job at a garment wholesaler, doing technical design and production. She eventually moved back to the Philadelphia area, hoping to focus on her artwork, but ended up managing restaurants to pay the bills. Then, five years ago, she decided it was time to pursue her vision for a line of women’s clothing. All she needed was a plan.

“No one was going to give me the kind of capital I needed to launch a women’s brand,” says Van Aken. “I think things might happen differently now, but for the last five, even 10 years, you started a brand because you were a celebrity, or you worked as an understudy for a big designer, or you were an editor at Vogue. None of those applied to me. Also, I didn’t want to have the same type of company. I was out to do something different.”

So, she got creative. She started a men’s custom shirt business (under the name “Van Aken”) because she could get it off the ground for around 10 grand. As that grew, she also began de-signing custom hospitality uniforms for upscale restaurants.

Shortly after launching the shirt business, Van Aken opened a fair trade garment factory in Bangladesh. There were instant challenges. She could only travel there four times a year, leaving her with little control over day-to-day operations, and turn-around could be unpredictable.

Last summer, things reached a breaking point. Production issues were taking up more and more of her time and energy. “I thought to myself, if it’s gonna be like this—with the stress and the travel—then I don’t know if I can do it for the next 10, 20 years of my life,” she explains. “Making clothes for the sake of making clothes and traveling around the world was cool for a while, but what is it going to do for me in my 30s? Nothing. I wanted to have an impact.”

Like many others, Van Aken felt galvanized by the 2008 presidential election. “I had two choices,” she says. “Scrap this

and do something else—maybe work for a nonprofit—or turn this business into something with more meaning.”

Confronted with a pair of major issues—streamlining pro-duction and integrating her company into the community fabric—Sarah Van Aken resolved to make her clothes in Phila-delphia.

Sa Va FaShion bringS buying local to a new leVel

Van aken hopes to change the fabric of philadelphia business with her ambitious multi-tiered operation.

14 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com photo by FlicKr user pwbaKer

Through some serendipitous networking, Van Aken connected with Karen Randal, Philadelphia’s new Director of Commercial Develop-ment and Attraction. With Randal’s support, Van Aken was awarded a Community Development Corpora-tion grant from Philadelphia Work-force Development. “There are a lot of people in Philadelphia who know how to use sewing machines—a lot of factories went out of business in just the last few years,” explains Van Aken. “But there aren’t a lot of peo-ple who have experience making the whole garment. They’re line sewers. One person might know how to make the collar of a shirt, and another, the cuff. The kind of work that I do—doing small runs—you need to be able to work on the whole garment.”

The grant paid a sewing instructor for the first eight weeks, and helped recruit the eclectic workforce. Sa Va employs a white American male, an African-American woman, as well as people from Ivory Coast, China, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and Eastern Europe. “I love the diversity,” says Van Aken. “And they communicate through sewing.” Sa Va will eventually cre-ate 22 full-time jobs.

Local production isn’t the only way Van Aken hopes to en-gage the community. She has a deep commitment to volunteer-ism, and plans to make the store’s website a resource for like-minded folks. She works with People’s Emergency Center in West Philadelphia, which provides services to homeless women and their children, and has partnered with Career Wardrobe, which supplies professional attire and career skills training to women in transition. “That was obvious for me,” says Van Aken. “If I’m considering all these elements of the life cycle

of a garment, I should tackle the whole life cycle.”

Eventually, she will even offer incen-tives—like rewarding customers who volunteer in the community with a free “garment of the month” or donat-ing a percentage of some proceeds to

community organizations. Van Aken hopes these efforts, along with the style

and wearability of her product, will help Sa Va stand out in a crowded marketplace.The rough economy remains a challenge,

but people need clothes, and some companies at a similar price point, like Anthropologie, are still doing well. “I think what we sell is really great,” reasons Van Aken. “And it has a totally different story, which gives people a little bit of added value.”

The boutique’s products all boast elements of sustainability—whether it’s organic, locally-made, fair trade or recycled. A tag on each garment features a checklist of those production details. The clothes themselves are organized in “mini-collections” and categorized by function: Saturday, workday, night out or dress-up. There is something for every occasion.

In the end, style is what sells clothes, but one of the most emotionally resonant effects of the sustainability movement is rediscovering where the objects that populate our lives actually come from. At Sa Va, you don’t need to think about the miles your purchase traveled or how much the people who made it were paid. The workers are upstairs, they have health insurance and the garment came down in the elevator. ■+

sa va, 1700 sansom st., →215-587-0004, savafashion.com

once known as the work-shop of the world, philadel-phia lost 400,000 manufac-turing jobs over the last four decades. but according to the emerging industries project (a report presented by the sus-tainable business network of philadelphia’s green economy task Force), there is potential to redevelop local manufac-turing in a more sustainable way. the city’s economy has been its most vibrant when the manufacturing sector was at its strongest. we have resources at our fingertips to increase production and cre-ate jobs.

manufacturing infrastruc-ture from philadelphia’s past remains, including its workforce, supply chains, and industrial properties and facilities. philadelphia’s local economy (the ninth richest in the world in terms of gdp) ex-

ists as a great demand mar-ket to drive local production. relatively low cost-of-living makes business operations competitively affordable, and our location and its transpor-tation system provides great access to local and global markets.

mayor nutter’s greenworks plan aims to create 15,000 new jobs by 2015, and by de-veloping local and sustainable manufacturing, we are on our way to meeting that goal with high-quality jobs and increased economic activity. buying locally can extend be-yond the food we eat. when we connect local supply and demand markets, manufactur-ers in philadelphia will have buyers for their goods.

For more information on sustainable manufacturing in philadelphia visit sbnphiladelphia.org.

Philadelphia, The Once and Future Workshop of the World?

could decaying industrial infrastructure in Kensington be reimagined?

this tag is attached to

every garment in sa Va.

15noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.com

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Prisoners and community gardeners help feed

Philadelphia’s hungryby natalie hope mcdonald

17noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.comillustration by melissa mcFeeters

It’s all part of an innovative education program begun by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) called City Harvest that has provided thousands of pounds of free, fresh produce to local food banks, community cupboards and pantries in some of Philadelphia’s neediest neighborhoods. Produce that’s plucked from the soil early in the morning at the prison garden—and 41 other participating gardens throughout the city—ends up in grocery bags at local pantries that same day.

The prison garden partners with Self-Help and Resource Exchange (SHARE), a program in which people can exchange volunteer time for heavily discounted food. It’s a model of how sustainable agriculture can change the lives of not only those who receive it, but also those who harvest it.

teaching Prisoners to garden“We have a spread that includes a large market-style garden with 24 raised beds that are about 12 to 16 feet long,” explains Sharat Somashekara, city garden coordinator for PHS. So-mashekara spends much of his time teaching inmates how to plant, tend and harvest gardens from spring until fall, with winter sessions focused on classroom-style instruction on both gardening and life skills.

Out of the more than 9,000 inmates at the facility, Somashek-ara works with approximately 250, a relatively small population on which he hopes to have the most positive impact.

During the height of summer, the prison garden yields veg-etables, small fruits, nuts and flowers. “Throughout the season we grow 40 different types of vegetables,” says Somashekara, who recently worked with inmates to build a solar-heated hoop house for propagating in colder temperatures. “In the winter we’re limited, for the most part, to seasonally appropriate crops:

Asian greens, lettuce, radishes, turnips and beets.” The garden also has at least 20 trees that grow pears, apples, persimmon and nectarines.

Somashekara estimates that the garden will produce up to 4,000 pounds of food by the end of the season, all of which is donated to food pantries in Northeast Philadelphia. The in-mates plant, tend and harvest food that, in some cases, ends up at pantries in their old neighborhoods where their own families go to obtain food.

“We deal with a lot of addicts, a lot of people with substance abuse and alcohol-related issues,” says Somashekara. “Many of

the inmates have committed a series of small crimes and slip up and end up in county jail for a period of time.”

For some of the non-violent offenders who join the program, gardening is a means of es-cape, at least while they’re inside the prison walls. For others, it’s a doorway to a whole new world.

“Some people have never stuck a seed in the ground or have never been on a patch of grass before,” says Somashekara. “Everyone comes into the program with different levels of experience and needs. We don’t really call it a job-training program, but we teach job-readiness skills, like learning how to work in a group, showing up on time, how to commu-nicate with a supervisor and co-workers.”

a djacent to a soccer field in fairmount park, in view of what’s left of the Delaware River’s wetlands, the Philadelphia Prison System operates eight correctional facilities for men and women along State Road. ¶ On the inside,

inmates wearing prison-issue orange jumpsuits are getting dirty—literally. Shifts of 15 to 20 men in the morning (and an equal number of women by afternoon) are watering tomato plants and Swiss chard. They’re pruning apple and fig trees, and consulting textbooks about how to properly care for hazelnuts.

phs’s sharat somashekara (on the left), city-wide project coordinator, gives a com-munity gardener supplies at a city harvest seed and start-distribution day

For some of the non-violent offenders who join the program, gardening is a means of escape, at least while they’re inside the prison walls. For others, it’s a doorway to a whole new world.

18 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com all photos courtesy oF phs

Everyone who enters this unique program learns basics about gardening and where food comes from, and goes through a crash course in agriculture, nutrition and organic farming. There’s also an ongoing curriculum focused on life skills and basic math.

“We’re trying to expose a lot of people to emerging indus-tries related to not just farming and food production,” explains Somashekara, “but industries related to home weatherization and energy-efficient green building.” Guest speakers regularly visit to discuss a range of topics related not only to gardening and nutrition, but also community college opportunities, credit counseling and substance abuse recovery.

It’s definitely not just about the food, says Somashekara: “We just had a class on building rain barrels. We’re also going to have someone from Penn State come in to do a composting workshop.”

when gary oppenheimer founded ample harvest in 2008, he was dismayed by how much food wasn’t being used by fellow gardeners at the west milford community garden in new Jersey. “i learned that our garden plot holders, like millions of backyard gardeners nation-wide, left large volumes of fresh produce un-harvested when they grew more than they could possibly use,” he says.

oppenheimer set out to gather this abundance of food and share it with local food pantries and community cup-boards around the country. “it soon became clear, however, that food pantries were hard to

find,” continues oppenheimer, who now connects pantries with food growers via the non-profit’s website.

on world Food day this year, ample harvest welcomed its 1,000th food pantry into the na-tional directory. “our goal is to register at least 500 additional food pantries before the end of the year,” says oppenheimer. “particularly in the south during the winter months.”

recently, a seventh grader with a green thumb in north carolina used ample harvest to donate 100 pounds of fresh, organic produce harvested from his 4-h project to a local pantry. “growing gardens has

no age limit,” admits oppen-heimer, who says every apple, head of lettuce or potato makes a difference in the lives of one in eight americans—equal to the populations of new Jersey, new york and pennsylvania combined—who rely on pan-tries for food.

“we can combat our portion of that hunger at home in amer-ica,” he says, “using smart, green-living methods with exist-ing resources.” —NHM

For more information, please visit AmpleHarvest.org, call 973-409-4093 or search “Ample Harvest” on Twitter and Facebook.

From left, lynne snyder and robin rifkin of the health promotion council and city harvest participant theresa burton at the Fourth annual city harvest celebration at the prison system on oct. 8.

a trIP to bountIfulPairing pantries with gardeners nationwide

The program also builds on whatever job skills inmates may have had before being incarcerated. “Some people have worked in the food industry and on landscaping crews,” says Somashekara. “Some people gain something more pro-fessional out if it. They learn how to apply

their skills to maybe become a foreman. “[T]his is an opportunity to do community service,” he con-

tinues. “They realize self-worth, that they have value. And they realize their minds are valuable and that something they’re do-ing in prison is having a positive impact.”

The prison’s greenhouse, a major fixture on the site, is at the heart of the City Harvest program. It’s used to generate seed-lings for gardeners across Philly, seedlings that are used to grow food that ends up feeding hundreds of families through local pantries each week.

making Fresh Food accessibleDuring a food demonstration recently at Spring Garden Towers, a senior housing center on the border of the city’s Fairmount section, Robin Rifkin of the Health Promotion Council shared new recipes with eager elderly residents that coincided with that day’s fresh delivery of cabbage and other vegetables from nearby Spring Gardens. For the past year, the residents have been receiving weekly food harvested from the community garden through City Harvest.

Rifkin creates flavorful, healthy recipes based on local har-vests. If cupboards are receiving a shipment of squash from the garden at Benjamin Rush State Park on the edge of the city, she’ll demonstrate how to make soup or an entrée.

Up until three years ago, the only food available at cupboards came in the form of cans and boxes. Now, “rather than working

with canned food, we’re working with fresh food,” Rifkin says. Each year the group organizes at least 80 food demon-strations that address culinary-related questions from June through the end of November. To date, the Health Promo-tion Council has reached almost 3,000 people throughout Philadelphia.

“People are surprised by how good things taste,” she says. “A lot of people have never tried these vegetables. And in a lot of neighborhoods, you can’t buy these vegetables.”

For older folks, the lessons come easy, like how to make Southwest cab-bage salad or fresh chutney. Many of them, she says, were raised on farms in the South. “They know how to cook and buy vegetables,” says Rifkin, un-like younger generations who may have been raised on fast food.

But cooking experience isn’t the only thing standing between many low-in-come families and a healthy diet incor-porating fresh produce. Rifkin explains that many low-income individuals can’t

19noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.com

afford store prices for fresh fruits and vegetables, making fast food a cheaper, more convenient option.

On a recent shopping trip for a cooking demo, when she found that two beets cost $2.99, Rifkin was reminded yet again about the difficulties facing people with low incomes who seek nutritious food, and the importance of the food pantries. “The average person on food stamps is living on $35 per week on food,” says Rifkin. For them, these prices aren’t even an option.

the importance of city harvest Since March, City Harvest has distributed more than 14,000 pounds of locally-grown organic food to these pan-tries, says Eileen Gallagher, citywide project manager for PHS’s Philadelphia Green. More than 52,000 pounds of food has been donated since the program launched four years ago.

Steveanna Wynn, executive director of SHARE, says that the goal of City Harvest is not only to feed people, but also to strengthen community ties and build a sense of pride. Un-fortunately, times are tough on both counts.

“It’s worse than I’ve ever seen it,” she laments. “The economy has really impacted folks who were able to make it, who were able to keep it together.” She says among families where one or more parent has lost a job or whose hours have been slashed, “the impact has been almost catastrophic.”

At food cupboards and pantries serving Philadelphia alone,

Wynn says anywhere between five and 10 new people show up every week: “These are people who have never gone to cup-boards for food before.”

To put it into perspective, in 2003, SHARE served 53,370 households in Philadelphia. As of last year, that number more than doubled to 120,000. During the course of just one year, Wynn says SHARE provides food to more than 500 food cup-boards in Philadelphia County alone, which is why the City Harvest program is so important. ■+

community gardens pitch in to helpToday, 41 community gardens throughout the Philadelphia area participate in the City Harvest program, including the Spring Gar-dens, which spans a generous city block on 18th Street just north of Spring Garden. For more than 150 families, the garden is an Eden, sprouting flowers, leafy vines and an organic bounty of fruits and vegetables on what was, fifteen years ago, an abandoned lot.

Two of the garden’s plots are churning out food for City Harvest. In addition, says Steph-an White, chairman of Spring Gardens, indi-vidual gardeners have also been donating food to the program—including tomatoes, carrots, peppers, zucchini, sweet potatoes, turnips and Swiss chard.

“Most everybody is thrilled that we can do this,” he says, “in addition to harvesting from two 20 x 20 and 20 x 50-foot plots.”

As of last month, White estimates the gar-den has delivered more than 1,100 pounds of food this season, an impressive figure considering that a surplus of potatoes, squash and other hefty autumn harvests are still being pulled from the ground well into December.

“I’ve always wanted our garden to be a benefit to the larger community,” says White. “And this is one way it does that. It’s especially nice to be sharing what we grow with people nearby. Charities should begin at home.”

dIggIng In

phs’s lisa mosca, a city-wide proj-ect coordinator for city harvest, working with vegetable starts at the prison greenhouse.

A lot of people have never tried these vegetables. And in a lot of neighborhoods, you can’t buy these vegetables. robin rifkin of the Health Promotion Council

20 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com

a bIke WIth Petalson a rooF or in a yard, grace wicKS growS gardenerS story by

char vandermeer

21noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.com

It was easy to pick Grace Wicks, sole proprietor of Graceful Gardens, out of the horde of stern-faced suits bustling by the Four Seasons Hotel in Center City. She was the one wearing a great big

grin and carrying a giant green gardening bag. Her custom Neighborhood Bicycle Works-built gardening cart didn’t hurt the identification process, either. Wicks was showing off one of her recent projects: a thriving kitchen

garden, teeming with herbs, chard, beets, peas, chives and so much more, growing on the roof of one of Philly’s swankiest hotels.

could you tell us a little bit about graceful gardens?Graceful Gardens is a full-service urban gar-dening company. I specialize in edible land-scapes, but I do all sorts of urban gardens. You saw my bike trailer out there? I tell people I’ll go as far as I’m willing to haul that thing, so I try to keep it local.

the urban gardening movement has caught on pretty rapidly. have you noticed any significant changes? More people are interested in the edibles. My fantasy was that I wanted to teach people how to grow food in the city. In the last year, the percentage of my edible [garden] clients has doubled. The services I offer are garden de-sign, installation, maintenance, consulting and coaching. And coaching, I think, is unusual. Usually, when it’s an edible landscape, I work side-by-side with the client. I teach them how to garden and we do it together.

do you have any clients who really took what you were doing and ran with it?One of my clients, she’s a nutrition counselor. She was great because she wanted to make sure that it was local, organic [and] sustainable. She was looking at it in terms of trying to feed her family really healthy food. We’re going to build a garden on the roof of her garage next season. This is the first year, so we just started doing everything in containers and pots on her patio. I planted some blueberries, a fig tree, perennial herbs and some annuals in pots. Now she’s out there with her kid, and every time I come back, it’s just another level.

So, how did you hook up with the Four Seasons?A farmer friend of mine, Glenn Brendle of Green Meadow Farm, heats all of his green-houses using waste vegetable oil. He picks up the waste oil from restaurants all around the city, and the Four Seasons is one of them. So, my contact at the Four Seasons, Marvin Dixon, who’s the engineer, knows Glenn from the oil pick-up. Marvin wanted to start this garden, so he called Glenn and Glenn was all, “Why don’t you call Grace? She lives in Center City and this is what she does!”

what about the organic nature of your work?It all starts with the soil and using really nice compost. Two, select the right plant for the right place so that it really thrives and is dis-ease-resistant. And then if it comes to plants having illnesses, organic products would be the last resort. I guess the last resort is ripping it out. Yeah, that’s the fourth thing—don’t treat it; just pull it out and start over with some-thing else.

if you were talking with someone who’s interested in getting into gardening, but they’ve never done it before, what advice would you have?Experiment, experiment, experiment! Be fear-less in trying things. Mint is a hard one to kill. In October, I’d suggest planting garlic. You’ve got a clove of garlic in your house—break it up and plant each one. It’s very economical: each clove turns into a head.

when do you harvest those?Probably in June. You wait until the stalk dies back. And you don’t have to do anything; that’s the greatest part. You just put it in the ground and ignore it.

what is your favorite part of all this?Growing gardeners! My clients become gar-deners and take on their own gardens. Now that’s success! ■+

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/ in season

Brussels SproutsOn reality tv cooking competitions, producers often can’t resist

the urge to structure a challenge around making traditionally maligned foods palatable for kids. Bring on the brussels sprouts! Every time they

hand a bushel of these little green balls of goodness to a reticent cheftestant, I get a touch worked up. What did these verdant orbs ever do to anyone to deserve such ire? If anything, they are the victims—subject to generations of sub-par cooking that saps their flavor and squanders their mildly funky twang.

Not only are brussels sprouts delicious when prepared properly, they’re crazy good for you. They contain high levels of vitamin C, vitamin A, folic acid and dietary fiber. They also contain sinigrin, an organic compound some believe may help prevent colon cancer. Unfortunately, it’s the sinigrin that can gain a mildly sulfuric odor when overcooked—the main culprit behind the nationwide brussels sprouts backlash.

It does seem that these underdog eats are making a come-back. Brussels sprouts have been popping up on menus all over the country, and the city of Philadelphia. Iron Chef Michael Symon is deep-frying ’em at Lola in Cleveland, and gastropubs near and far are sautéing them with bacon—a B.S. BFF—and serving them up as a side. (Try them at the Sidecar in the Gradu-ate Hospital neighborhood).

And yes, bacon is great buddies with brussels sprouts, but it’s not even my favorite preparation. Here are a few super-simple, healthy methods that should guarantee a second look from even the most skeptical eater:

roasted whole with olive oil, salt and pepper. → Clean and trim the sprouts, season them and toss them in a 400-degree oven for 35-40 minutes (or until they are fork-tender inside and crispy on the outside). Don’t be afraid to sprinkle some fresh lemon on the finished product.

Sautéed with garlic, white wine and lemon. → Clean and trim the sprouts, slice them into ¼ inch strips, then sauté in olive oil with garlic, salt and pepper. When the cooking is almost complete (about five minutes) and some of the slices start to crisp, finish with lemon zest, lemon juice and a splash of white wine.

roasted with root vegetables. → This savory side dish is perfect cold-weather comfort food. Serve it with a fried egg and grilled bread for a simple supper. In a 425-degree oven, roast coarsely chopped potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, onions and brussels sprouts (halved). Before cooking, toss with salt, pepper, olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar and any fresh herbs you like. I throw in whole, peeled cloves of garlic (they end up amazingly sweet and creamy). Cook for about an hour, or until everything is cooked through and browned.

Many farmers’ markets in town are selling brussels sprouts by the pint. You can occasionally find them on the stalk—a pret-ty cool sight that would make a clever, non-traditional addition to a fall centerpiece. —Lee Stabert

23noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.com

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24 g r idP h illy.com photo by leo gongoctober 2009

Squash Your Hungerenjoy a hearty fall pilaf

/ local flavor

Barley Pilaf Stuffed Squash [serves 4]

by tara mataraza desmond

Barley is a common ingredient in hearty dishes like soup, stew and stuff-ing. Here, the grain is the base of a pilaf-

like filling for soft roasted butternut squash. The minimal amount of sweet Italian sausage marries beautifully with fragrant sage and chewy tart cranberries, but if you’re going veggie, just omit it. Woodsy porcini mushrooms are meaty enough to carry the dish. Depending on size, each squash can be an individual serving, or two large halves can be stuffed and divided.

2 small butternut squash, or 1 large squash, halved, seeds scooped out

1 tbsp. plus 2 tsp. olive oil¼ cup (about ½ ounce) dried

porcini mushrooms3 cups hot water1 cup barley4 oz sweet italian sausage

(or your favorite flavor)2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp.)1 small shallot, minced1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage

(about 4 large leaves)¼ cup dried cranberries, chopped2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar½ cup toasted pecans, chopped kosher salt freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.��To prepare the squash, rub the insides with ��

the tablespoon of oil, salt and pepper, and trans-fer to a large roasting pan that will fit all the pieces without crowding. Roast in the oven, cut side down, for 45 minutes to an hour, until the squash is fork-tender.

Meanwhile, to prepare the filling, let the ��mushrooms steep in the hot water in a medium saucepan for about 15 minutes. Remove the re-hydrated mushrooms, chop and set aside. Bring the soaking water to a boil, add the barley and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the barley is cooked through.

While the barley cooks, add the two tea-��spoons of oil to a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cut and remove the sausage casings and crumble the meat into the pan. Cook the sausage until it begins to brown, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, shallot, sage, cranberries and reserved mushrooms, and cook for another two minutes.

Drain the barley through a mesh strainer and ��add to the sausage pan. Add the vinegar and stir to combine thoroughly with the rest of the ingre-dients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm until the squash is ready.

When the squash is done, remove from the ��oven and stuff the craters with the hot barley mixture. Sprinkle with toasted pecans and serve.

Reprinted from Almost Meatless by Joy Man-ning and Tara Mataraza Desmond. Copyright © 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, Inc.

25noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.comphoto by VicKi hodge

Pumpkin-Swirl Cheesecake [serves 8-10]

by dynise balcavage, urbanvegan.net

What’s Thanksgiving without a pumpkin-based dessert? This rich, subtly spiced cheesecake is egg- and dairy-free, but no one will know it.

cruSt2 cups vegan gingersnaps,

or molasses, vanilla or chocolate cookies, lightly crumbled

4 tbsp. non-dairy butter substitute4 tbsp. sugar

cheeSecaKe2 8 oz containers of vegan cream cheese1 12 oz aseptic container of silken, extra-firm

tofu (do not use refrigerated tofu. the texture is too grainy for cheesecake)

2 tsp. vanilla¼ cup flour1 cup plus ¼ cup sugar2 tbsp. brandy (optional)1 15 oz can unsweetened pumpkin2 tbsp. cornstarch1 ½ tsp. cinnamon½ tsp. ground ginger¼ tsp. allspice¼ tsp. salt pinch nutmeg

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.��In a food processor, mix crust ingredients. ��

Press into lightly oiled 9-inch spring form pan. Mix cream cheese, tofu, vanilla, flour, one cup ��

of sugar and brandy, if using, in the food proces-sor until very smooth. (In this stage, there’s no such thing as overmixing.) Pour half of the batter into a medium bowl and set aside.

To the batter that remains in the food pro-��cessor, add pumpkin puree, ¼ cup sugar, corn-starch, spices and salt. Again, blend until very smooth.

Pour pumpkin batter on top of crust. Gen-��tly pour white batter on top, and using a butter knife, gently work up the pumpkin batter into the white batter to create swirls. Be careful not to pull up the crust as you do this. Don’t overmix.

Bake at 325 degrees for 90 minutes. Cake ��is done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack, then refrig-erate overnight. Slide a knife around the cake before removing the spring form from the pan base. ■+

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Power TripFrom oil wells to Solar cells— our ride to the renewable Future by Amanda Little, harper; $25.99

Cycling into work on the Brooklyn Bridge on September 11, 2001, Amanda Little witnessed the horrific attack on the World

Trade Center. Two years later, on August 14, 2003, Little was in her Manhattan office when the North-

east Blackout left the city without power. Despite her career as an environmental journalist who focused on the “American energy landscape,” Little realized that she understood very little about how it worked.

Power Trip explores the relationship America has with fossil fuels, where every-thing from cosmetic surgery to the operation of the digital age depends on oil. Little does not stop with a critique. She makes a progressive case for the long-awaited era of sustainable development, exploring the successful pioneering clean-energy solutions across America; from touring Zero Energy Homes in Lenoir City, TN to riding open-air construction to the top of the nation’s greenest skyscraper in Manhattan. With next-generation optimism, Little builds a case that the same ingenuity that got us into this mess will get us out of it, and into a brighter, sus-tainable future.

Whether it’s green for a brighter future on Earth or for double the green in your pocket, this book offers no excuses for waiting to embrace a cleaner future of renewable, natural energy right now.

Really—even Walmart’s doing it. —Grace Antonini

inquiries into the nature of Slow moneyby Woody Taschchelsea green publishing, $21.95

Our world economy revolves around capitalism and is in a state of constant expansion. Having doubled two times since 1960, it is expected to quadruple again by the middle of this century. Many

fear a collision between profit and growth and the wel-fare of humanity and the environment. It would be easy to just throw in the towel and prepare for the worst. Woody Tasch, however, isn’t overwhelmed by modern capitalism’s power. The venture capitalist and president of the new non-government organization (NGO) Slow Money, offers a com-prehensive solution to current and impending crises in his new book, Inquiries Into the Nature of Slow Money.

Why “slow money”? Tasch was inspired in part by Slow Food, an international nonprofit organization that links the pleasure of food with commitment to community and the environment. His concept of slow money focuses on bringing money back down to earth. Profit and growth may be the core motivators of today’s economy, but Tasch envi-sions a non-destructive economy “built around principles of carrying capacity, care of the commons, sense of place and non-violence.” He believes that in order to heal the global disease, we must invest in sustainable enterprise and local community. In Tasch’s world, value and taste (home-grown broccoli) take precedence over price and expedience (supermarket broccoli). —Grace Antonini

the botany of desirebased on the book by Michael Pollanpbs home Video, $29.99

It is a centuries-old belief that man has dominion over nature, but with his third book The Botany of Desire (2001), now adapted into a docu-mentary, Pollan successfully turns this ideology on its head. The subti-tle for the book, “A Plant’s-Eye View

of the World,” is also the unusual perspective of this video. Certain plants have gone from a small corner of the world, and with our help, to every continent save Antarctica. They have changed our landscapes, our diets, and even our economic stability. The plants Pollan highlights—apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes—have had fascinating re-lationships with humans. Did you know Johnny Appleseed had alcoholic cider in mind when he was planting his trees? Or that, long before our own housing market, a mania for tulips caused a collapse in the Dutch economy? While the video is a faithful adaptation of the book, the videography is stunning, and adds a valuable dimension to the subject. —Timothy Mulcahy

27noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.com

28 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com photo by richard power hoFFmann

Federal climate change Policy briefingLearn the latest information on federal climate change policy by attending a presentation by Dan Lashof of the Natural Resources Defense Council, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Envi-ronmental Council and Clean Air Council.

nov. 9, 6 p.m., academy of natural →sciences, 1900 benjamin franklin pkwy., pecpa.org/node/822

Pennsylvania works! campaign informational luncheonJoin PennFuture for an introduction to Penn-sylvania Works!, a statewide campaign actively promoting policies, regulations and programs that promote strong families, sustainable places and economic prosperity for all Pennsylvanians. Lunch will be provided and there is no charge to attend.

nov. 13, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., 1606 walnut st., →3rd floor auditorium, pennfuture.org

Satellite Second Saturday, presented by Vix emporium and Satellite caféNow a monthly event in West Philly, Novem-ber’s Second Saturday features the two year AnniVIXary Party at Vix, with the premiere of a new design, the latest addition to their line of hand-printed, vintage-inspired stationery. Check out a craft show featuring local artists and craft-ers at the Danger Danger Gallery, and enjoy live music and refreshments.

nov. 14, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m., 5009 and →5013 baltimore ave. vixemporium.com, myspace.com/satellitecoffee

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urban Sustainability Forum— transportation reform: the one-way ticket back to townLocal officials and national experts will explore why strategic regional planning that incorpo-rates sustainability objectives can drive eco-nomic development back into our older cities and towns.

nov. 19, 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., →academy of natural sciences, ansp.org

2009 energy Services conference Energy Coordinating Agency will host its annual Energy Services Conference this month at the Friends Center. Learn about some of the city’s new energy efficiency and conservation pro-grams, how to save energy in your home and how saving energy will create jobs while mak-ing Philadelphia a greener city.

nov. 19, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., $30 registration →(includes 2009-10 philadelphia energy directory), friends center, 1501 cherry st., ecasavesenergy.org

cut the craft!This showcase of 30 independent, local crafters is coming to the Manayunk-Roxborough section of Philadelphia just in time for the holidays, of-fering a variety of unconventional and unique creations. The goods will run the gamut—find everything from reconstructed clothing to hand-made toys and jewelry.

nov. 21, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., and nov. 22, →11 a.m. – 5 p.m., 376 shurs ln., manayunk, sardineclothing.com/ctc

SustainaFood Supply chain SeminarThis one-day seminar presented by the Sustain-able Business Network, the Green Restaurant Association and Fair Food, will focus on how to create and run a prosperous business in the food industry using a sustainable model. A panel of local experts, including Fair Food Executive Di-rector Ann Karlen and Jill Fink of Mugshots Cof-feehouse, will discuss their own tried-and-true methods for an eco-friendly food operation, and the Pita Pit’s Adam Palmer will offer the keynote presentation. The afternoon will conclude with a networking session and expo featuring local food vendors.

nov. 30, 2:30 p.m. – 6 p.m., $15 sbn →members, $20 non-members, feast your eyes catering’s new event space, 1750 n. front st., sbnphiladelphia.org

Space 1026 Film Screening and energy workshop Kilowatt Ours: A Plan to Re-Energize America is an award-winning film by Jeff Barrie that takes a solutions-oriented look at our country’s energy challenges. You can see Kilowatt Ours, attend an energy workshop and chat with field experts next month at Space 1026, a gallery and art col-lective in Chinatown.

dec. 6, 2 p.m. energy workshop, 5 p.m. →film screening, free, space 1026, 1026 arch st., space1026.com

mill creek Farm 3rd annual benefit PartySupport Mill Creek Farm’s efforts to improve local access to fresh produce, build a healthy community and environment, and promote a just sustainable foods system by attending their 3rd Annual Benefit Party. Enjoy light food, drinks, live music, a silent auction and raffle, and learn more about the work they do. All proceeds go directly to Mill Creek Farm. Childcare will be provided.

dec. 6, 3 p.m. – 7 p.m., $25, the first →Unitarian church of philadelphia, 2125 chestnut st., millcreekurbanfarm.org

the First annual greener Partners and the academy of natural Sciences 2009 wild & Scenic environmental Film FestivalCelebrate the beauty of the wild with eight environmental films carefully cho-sen by Greener Partners and the Acade-my of Natural Sciences for the first Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival. Enjoy a cash bar, live bluegrass music from the Treats and popcorn stations. Purchase the special film and dinner ticket to enjoy an intimate dinner fea-

turing local, organic cuisine with members of Fridays at the Farm, Greener Partners and the Academy’s Center for Environmental Policy.

nov. 15, 3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., $15 students, $35 adults, film and dinner →$150, academy of natural sciences, greenerpartners.org

casper and hannah from Fridays at the Farm

29noVember 2009 gr i dPh i lly.com

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30 noVember 2009g r idP h illy.com illustration by Kirsten harper

No longer six, but sixty-something, I look back on a career of building community by gathering people around tables. At community tours and “Table Talk” programs held at the White Dog Cafe, customers have made many a new friend with mutual interests in a wide range of environment and social justice issues—building a solar house, reforming drug policy or saving our oceans. At a program on the lives of inner-city children, a customer once asked why there were few swings in playgrounds. And the Philadelphia Swing Project was born, with many customers joining in to raise money and install swings.

Suppliers, too, are part of the White Dog com-munity—farmers, cheesemakers, bakers, brew-ers. When I first got my liquor license, I decided to carry only local beer. Twenty-five years ago, that was a novel idea, and I had to search high and low to find local microbreweries. When I

heard there was a new woman-owned brewery out in Lancaster County, I called up Carol Stoudt to place an order. She drove the beer into town with the keg riding next to her strapped in with the seatbelt!

Here in Philadelphia, a robust local living economy has taken root, giving our city unique character and hope for a sustainable future. We boast a growing number of farms, markets and local food enterprises, green builders, design-ers and salvagers, unique boutiques featuring locally-made, eco-friendly and vintage cloth-ing. Knowing who bakes our bread, builds our cabinets, sews our clothes and brews our beer enriches our community. We go to farmers’ mar-kets to buy fresh produce, but also because it’s fun to see our neighbors and meet the farmers who grow our food—to feel the sense of place and happiness that comes from vibrant com-munity life.

People often ask me if I miss the White Dog, but I’ll tell you, I’m really enjoying transitioning from an entrepreneurial activist to a citizen ac-tivist, from the responsibility of running a busi-ness to the responsibility of being a conscious consumer at locally-owned, green businesses as much as possible! It’s exciting to see the next generation, many the grown children of longtime White Dog customers, starting green businesses and serving in local government and nonprof-its that are putting Philadelphia on the map in sustainability. What has always been most im-portant to me at the White Dog—being part of a community of shared values—continues to grow as though those extension cords of my childhood have multiplied into a far-reaching interconnect-ed community. There’s a collective joy in work-ing collaboratively toward a shared vision for a local living economy in Philadelphia—a sense well captured in these pages. Makes me want to crank up that little old record player and dance in the street! ■+judy wicks is co-founder of the international Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), and founder of the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) and Fair Food in Philadelphia. She is best known as the founder of the White Dog Cafe, which she operated from 1983 to January 2009, and the Black Cat, which featured locally-made and fair trade products for 20 years. judywicks.com

judy wicks

I had just turned six when my family moved to the small town where I grew up in western Pennsylvania. On the first day in my new commu-nity, I collected all the extension cords I could find and connected them

down the driveway, where I set up my child-size dining table with two chairs, and plugged in a toy record player. Turning the volume up full-blast, I sat down at the table to see who might come along. At last, I spotted a neighbor-hood boy walking along the road, and gleefully watched as he stopped and turned up our driveway to take a seat at my table. Though I hadn’t any food to serve, he must have been my first restaurant customer!

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petroleum pincher.The 37-MPG* MINI Cooper starting at $19,200.**

Sure, the MINI Cooper gets a fuel-effi cient 37 miles per gallon, which is good for the earth. But with a low starting price of just $19,200, it saves the other kind of green, too.

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*37 hwy/28 city MPG MINI Cooper Hardtop with manual transmission. EPA estimate. Actual mileage will vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits and vehicle operation.**MSRP, including destination and handling charges. Price excludes license, registration, taxes and options. Certain features may be optional. Actual price determined by your dealer. © 2009 MINI, a division of BMW of North America, LLC. The MINI name, model names and logo are registered trademarks.

petroleum pincher.The 37-MPG* MINI Cooper starting at $19,200.**

Sure, the MINI Cooper gets a fuel-effi cient 37 miles per gallon, which is good for the earth. But with a low starting price of just $19,200, it saves the other kind of green, too.

Otto’s MINI1275 Wilmington Pike West Chester PA 19382866-265-7073

www.ottosmini.com

*37 hwy/28 city MPG MINI Cooper Hardtop with manual transmission. EPA estimate. Actual mileage will vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits and vehicle operation.**MSRP, including destination and handling charges. Price excludes license, registration, taxes and options. Certain features may be optional. Actual price determined by your dealer. © 2009 MINI, a division of BMW of North America, LLC. The MINI name, model names and logo are registered trademarks.