1. Shop at your local farmer’s market. If you wait towards the end of the market, many farmers are willing to sell at lower rates to get rid of inventory.
2. Join a local CSA in your area for a weekly produce box, fresh from a local farm. Some of these items are much cheaper than at Whole Foods. Some examples of CSAs are FarmFreshToYou and others found on Om Organics’ website in the San Francisco Bay Area.
3. Find private label organic food items. At Safeway, they now sell their own organic food line O Organics. At Whole Foods, they have their 365 everyday value items. These items tend to have reasonable food prices.
4. Shop at your local co-op. My personal favorite is Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco. It is like the Costco of Whole Foods. Not necessarily the prettiest place to shop, but full of choices, bulk and great prices.
5. Buy bulk items. Don’t bother buying core items like rice and oatmeal from small boxes. At places like Whole Foods, and co-ops like Rainbow Grocery, it is easy to find wide varieties of healthy grains, nuts, dried fruits and other goodies in the bulk aisle. One of my favorite items is the almond butter, fresh and bulk.
6. My personal favorite store for value-Trader Joe’s. Sure their produce quality is not the best, but many of their packaged items are great prices.
7. Use food delivery services like Planet Organics in the San Francisco Bay Area. They deliver straight to your home once a week, and you can choose any items you want, unlike a CSA. I’ve been using them for a month, and really enjoy the quality of their produce.
8. Grow your own vegetables and fruits in your patio or yard. Tomatoes are especially a good thing to grow as they tend to be more expensive than other produce.
9. Find coupons for organic and local food. Whole Foods has a coupon flyer in their stores that has many discounts on natural food items. There are local guides such as Green Zebra and EcoMetro Guide that have dozens of discounts for organic and local items.
10. Avoid chains and try shopping at local markets. My favorite local market is Sigona’s in Redwood City for produce. Their produce prices are some of the best in the area given the quality of their organic and local sourcing. Another example is the Milk Pail in Mountain View.

Can you imagine the Bay Area without Mount Tam, Half Moon Bay Beach, and Henry Coe? Well that’s what the Governor announced – a new proposal to eliminate state funding for our state park system – which will close more than 80% of the 279-unit state park system.  His proposal to cut $143 million from our state parks is 10 times worse than last year’s proposal.

What can you do?

1. Sign the petition from the California State Parks Foundation

2. Donate to the California State Parks Foundation, the only non profit dedicated to advocating for the California State park system.

3. Learn more about the issues and the California state budget.

4. Spread the word!

Celebrate Earth Day! Here are some interesting events:

San Francisco:

• Green Apple Festival. Volunteer activities take place at parks, beaches, schools and forests that focus on tree-planting, energy efficiency retrofits, water protection, urban gardens and forest restoration today through Sunday. For volunteering efforts, times a
• Earth Stroll at Crissy Field. Take an interactive fitness walk, play eco-games, visit with live animals and learn how to create a healthier planet. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Crissy Field, near Mason Street off Highway 101. 415-561-7690.
• “Party for the Planet” at the San Francisco Zoo. Green-themed activities, puppet show and scavenger hunt. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Great Highway and Sloat Boulevard. Call 415-753-7080 or go to www.sfzoo. org/registration/calendardetail. asp?orgkey=1431&ActivityKey= 539272.nd location information, please visit www.greenapplefestival.com.

Peninsula:

• Earth Day at Coyote Point Museum, San Mateo. Eco-art, nature walks and talks, interaction with the museum’s nonreleasable animals and special cleanup events. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. 1651 Coyote Point Drive. 650-342-7755, www.coyoteptmuseum.org/activities/family-events/earth-day.
• Portola Valley’s Earth Day Fair. The event will include water conservation tips, composting demonstration techniques and recycling games for kids. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday. Town Center Community Hall, 765 Portola Road. 650-851-1700.
• Belmont Earth Day Festival. Tree-planting, discussions and entertainment. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 25. Barrett Community Center, 1870 Ralston Ave. 650-595-7441 or www.belmont.gov/earthday

South Bay:

• Weed the Wetlands at San Francisquito Creek, Palo Alto. Remove non-native and invasive species. 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. For more information, contact 510-452-9261, extension 119, sanfrancisco.about.com/ od/aprilevents/tp/earthdaysf. htm.
• Earth Day Eco-Friendly Workshop. Children and parents are invited to participate in this event. 1-8 p.m. Monday. Sunnyvale Public Library, 665 W. Olive Ave. 408-730-7262.
• Earth Day at San Jose State University. Aztec Dancers, an electric bicycle company giving test rides nearby and games supplied by the Environmental Club. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesday. El Paseo de Cesar Chavez. 408-924-5467.
• “Your Home, Your Community, Your Environment: A Community Conversation on Climate Change.” 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesday. City Council Chambers, 456 W. Olive Ave., Sunnyvale. 408-730-7262.
• Greening Your Life. A panel of experts discusses easy ways to be green at home. 7-8 p.m. Thursday. Sunnyvale Community Center, 550 E. Remington Drive. 408-730-7262.

East Bay

• Earth Day Weeding Project. Help remove non-native vegetation like Russian thistle and ice plant to ensure endangered birds and fish can thrive. 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. Eden Landing Ecological Reserve, off Highway 92 near Eden Landing Road, Hayward. For information, call 510-452-9261, extension 119 or go to www.savesfbay.org. and click on East Bay in the bottom left corner of page.
• Earth Day at the Oakland Zoo. More than 40 earth stations, hands-on learning, crafts, face-painting and Wildlife Theater presentations. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. 9777 Golf Links Road. 510-632-9525.

Last year, during this time, I realized I couldn’t handle the day to day tasks of a wedding while at work. So I made the wise choice of hiring a wedding planner. I looked for a green, environmental wedding planner, and I was able to find one!

I worked with Corina Beczner of Vibrant Events. I liked her style, her background in sustainability, and her ideas. She worked with me for several months before the big day in Half Moon Bay to concoct a green wedding. My wedding had so many green elements in it that it has been filmed by Bloomberg, along with other green wedding vendors like Brilliant Earth. More photos and ideas from my wedding to come!

For one of my social events, I hosted a 50 person casual brunch to celebrate an occasion. I didn’t want to spend too much money, but I still wanted high quality food. I found a great recommendation through the Berkeley Parent’s Network online, called Greenleaf Platters. They provide green, low cost, organic, local foods already made and delivered to your door. For my event, I ordered quiches, salads, fruits, organic lemondade and coffee.

The food was so great that my friends picked up their business card. Greenleaf then comes back to the venue after you’re done to pick up the glass plates that they lend for the event. Most of their food was organic and locally sourced. I highly recommend Greenleaf Platters for an event. Their manager Hugh Groman even called me the week before to double check my order even though I had already purchased it online just to make sure it was what I wanted.

Sponsored by CCOF, one of my favorite non profits in California educating consumers on organic food and drink, the annual organic beer and wine tasting will kick off this Friday evening at the Ferry Building in San Francisco from 4-8PM. To learn more, go to CCOF for more information. 

A nice and quaint women’s clothing store called Clary Sage Organics has recently popped up in Pacific Heights. I walked in and the clothes actualy looked good being made out of organic clothes. Most clothing I have seen so far in boutique stores haven’t really caught my eye that are made out of organic fabrics, but Clary Sage is an exception. Check them out on Fillmore Street.

Don’t miss this year’s Green Festival in San Francisco. Full of environmental and eco friendly products and services. Packed with food, speakers, drinks and lots of things to learn and explore.

November 14-16, 2008
Friday – 12pm – 7pm
Saturday – 10am – 7pm
Sunday – 11am – 6pm

Located at the San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center on 635 8th St (at Brannan St) in San Francisco.

Better to come here in the mornings to beat the crowds!

Read more about these issues through a local non profit dedicated against the spraying called Stop The Spray. I signed the petition to stop the spray on Care2 which already contains over 14,000 signatures.