On October 30th SEA hosted an exciting, Halloween-themed potluck party!
How did we make SEA's Halloween Potluck more sustainable?
Reducing Waste
Digital Invitations
Almost everything is digital nowadays. So why bother to make and distribute paper invitations that would easily end up in the trash? Making digital invitations on websites that provide online templates is faster, cheaper, and reduces our environmental footprint.
Avoiding single-use plastic
Swap out plastic plates and cutleries with reusable forks, knives, cups, and plates or tableware made with compostable material. When purchasing food ingredients and decorations, we try to avoid items with unnecessary plastic packaging.
Recycling & Reusing
Donate Unused Materials
In the event that we have leftover food, florals, and decor from the party, SEA will look to reduce waste by partnering with local post-party charities and food donor organizations to allow party pieces to be repurposed for those in need.
Convenient Recycling
We encourage all attendees to recycle, so recycling bins will be easy to access.
Reusable Over Disposable Decor
When we purchase decorations and various spooky pieces for the event, we make sure to keep in mind the longevity of the items and ensure that they can be reused, especially if made from plastic or non-biodegradable material.
Venue
Keeping Distance & Travel In Mind
Our potluck event will be held at the SEA President's home. This is a convenient setting that is local to everyone in our community which minimizes carbon emissions from travel.
Event Preparations
Shopping Local
The goods purchased for our events are locally sourced to minimize transportation mileage and support local businesses.
The Food!
Homemade & Nutritious
In case you didn't know, the term 'potluck' refers to a communal gathering where each guest contributes a homemade dish of food for all to share. Promoting home-cooked meals made from nutritious whole foods is important because...
Avoids highly processed foods that contribute to a higher carbon footprint from manufacturing, shipping, and distribution.
Guaranteed nutrient quality comes from the wise, environmentally sustainable use of water, farm inputs, and soil during the farming process.
Reduces excess food packaging which adds to overall waste
Goodie Bags
Gifting A Green Favor
At the end of the party, sent our guests off with sustainably made goodie bags. Instead of using plastic for our goodie bags, we used Halloween-themed, linen drawstring gift bags.
Linen is known as the world's strongest fiber, making it perfect for durable and long-lasting use. Made from the flax plant, linen is one of the most biodegradable fabrics as well. Flax plants are extremely versatile, generating far less waste as pretty much every part is used to make a product. Flax is also very resilient and can grow in poor soil, using far less water and pesticides in its consumption than cotton.
What did we put in our goodie bags?
DIY paper bags containing homemade vegan chocolate chip cookies
Seasonal flower seed packets
DIY Parchment Paper Bags
You know those paper bags that your cookies usually come in when you buy them at the local bakery? Why not try making them at home? It'll save you money and reduce your carbon footprint and waste production. Follow the instructions below on how to repurpose your baking paper into cookie bags.
Directions:
Cut a strip of parchment paper measured to the size of the cookie or the goodie bag.
Score down approx. 1/8 of an inch on the long sides of the strip and fold them inward.
Then, score a line through half of the strip in preparation to fold it "hamburger style".
Line the folded edges w/ tacky glue or Elmer's glue.
Fold the strip to allow the glue to come together and stick to form the bag.
Allow the glue to dry.
You can add cutouts and decorations to your bag!
Follow the video below for a visual guide!
Sending our guests off with earth-friendly gifts allows for a long-lasting and inspirational token of SEA's mission. We hope that the big and little things we demonstrated through this social gathering will sprout seeds (pun intended) for change and continue to encourage support for environmental awareness within our community.
Commenti