So far, this week has been the most perfect spring week ever! It has been in the low 70’s (except on the ocean), clear blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Ah…just perfect!
Today I went out and gave my garden a little love. I aerated the soil and mulch. Next I have to go and purchase some plants!
Let’s talk about food at our meetings today! Perhaps in my garden, I will plant some vegetables! 
Okay…so what can you do with the meals that are “Green”? Lots of options…Here is a list:
- Don’t serve individual bottles of water. I have attended Meeting Professional International (MPI) World Education Conference (WEC) and Professional Educational Conference (PEC) for the past couple of years. Last July, they switched over to water bubbler and re-usable water bottles. This really worked well especially when the water bottles were nice. This also makes for a great sponsorship opportunity. But if you can’t find a sponsor no worries…using water pitchers are just as good too!
- Buy locally grown food that is in season. Food that hasn’t traveled thousands of miles to your plate is fresher, tastier and drastically cuts down on pollution. Plus you get to celebrate the local community. This is a great way to show what the local flavor might be.
- Speaking of buy food locally, this includes seafood. Buy seafood from sustainable fisheries. What does that mean? Sustainable seafood is from sources, either fished or farmed, that can maintain or increase production into the long-term without jeopardizing the affected ecosystems. That definition was taken from Monterey Bay Aquarium. Go to their web site and do some searching (www.mbayaq.org)…it is a great web site!
- Estimate your final guarantee better. I know that we all already try to do this because it saves on the budget. BUT this also cuts down on the amount of food wasted.
- What is your food served on? At NEMICE 2008 (New England Meetings Industry Conference and Exposition) we used bamboo serving items for the first time. We had some mixed reviews. The “silverware” was a little strange. Some of the attendees that I spoke compared the utensils to the spoon that you get with a Hoodsie Ice Cream Cup. The reason why we chose to use these bamboo plates and utensils is that they biodegrade in four to six months while the normal serving items that are made out of polystryrene and don’t biodegrade.
- After the event, make sure anything that can be composted is! Another option is to donate the leftover food to a soup kitchen or food bank. The donation isn’t necessarily green but it is a great step towards being socially responsible.
Here is a very short list of things you can do at your next meeting. For more ideas or if you have a comment, don’t hesitate to contact Meeting Revolution at amanda@startameetingrevolution.com.
