July 2020
Sustainable Warwick Minutes
Wednesday July 15, 2020
Still Zooming — Making a difference from right there in your easy chair!
We had an inspiring and informative presentation by Stiles Najac, Food Security Liaison for Cornell Cooperative Extension. The main goal of her work is to connect residents of low-income areas to our food system. Please take some time to check out their Gleaning Program, which provides thousands of pounds of produce that would otherwise have been unharvested to local food pantries. All of their food is picked by volunteers, who these days are working with appropriate distancing. Here’s a link to sign up to be a volunteer. When you sign up to volunteer, you’ll start getting emails about what times volunteers are needed that week, so you can participate as your schedule allows.
Committee Reports
The Locavore Committee (Orion Blake and Chad Pilieri, co-chairs) has branded its project as the Hudson to Delaware Locavore Pod and is actively signing up recruits to build out this initiative. They are also exploring branching out into product sourcing for local grocers, buying clubs, and events, all in an effort to promote a local food system economy in our part of the Great Appalachian Valley. If this sounds like your cup of tea, reach out to locavores@sustainablewarwick.org
Orion told us about important legislation introduced by Senator Gillibrand, which may become part of the Covid-19 response packages: Relief for America's Small Farmers and Food Bank Access to Farm Fresh Produce
Christopher Pawelski's farmer advocacy group, Farmroot.org, wrote the proposal that Senator Gillibrand put forth as the Food Bank Access to Farm Fresh Produce Act.
This bill, which would start disbursing funds 30 days after enactment, would secure $8 billion for the purposes of buying produce only directly from farmers for food banks, and also in the acquisition for programs such as the one Stiles Najac explained to us. The bill was introduced on the 5th of May, and might be acted on to be part of whatever COVID relief bill is put forth this month to replace the expiring CARES Act.
The Locavores Map is up and running -- please be sure to use the map and share it with friends.
New Fundraiser! Send us a photo of food from a farm or market that is listed on the Locavore Map and Sustainable Warwick will donate $10 to the Warwick Area Migrant Committee. Details of this are still to be finalized, so watch for an email in the coming days that will explain how to submit your photos. We want to motivate people to use the Locavore Map and to share pictures; we also want to support the Warwick Area Migrant Committee, which does excellent work helping the children of migrant workers.
Green Screen Committee Update (Bill Greene)
Bill reported that the village and school board elections have been completed, and there are no Town of Warwick elections this November. The Green Screen Committee is looking at screening candidates in other elections for Orange County and NYS Legislature. They are looking for good questions to separate the really green candidates from the greenwashers, and they are also looking for volunteers to participate on the committee.
Sustainable World Book Club (Christina Thomas)
Christina told us that the Book Club’s August book will be Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver. Details on how to request the book from the library are on the Book Club's web page. We are meeting via Zoom once again, all are invited to join us on August 11th at noon, even if you haven't read the book.
For September, the Book Club is planning to read How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi. Most likely Sustainable Warwick and the Albert Wisner Public Library will co-sponsor discussions of this book. Please contact the book club for more details about how to participate. BookClub@SustainableWarwick.org
Reminder: You can always find the upcoming titles on the Sustainable World Book Club webpage and on SW's Events Calendar.
New Topics
We are planning a discussion of An Inconvenient Truth, with Gail Buckland, who participated in making it. Is there some benefit in revisiting this? It had excellent content -- but the presenter was divisive. Can we envision speaking about addressing climate change in a unifying way?
Volunteers are sought to help us promote Solar for All, a New York state program that takes one of the steps toward climate justice by giving low income New Yorkers access to community solar, which saves them money. Interested in learning more or pitching in? Contact SteeringCommittee@SustainableWarwick.org.
August Picnic? Each year during August instead of a regular monthly meeting Sustainable Warwick has held a picnic, recently in the Wickham Woodlands. With extra careful social distancing and other Covid protocol, the fine summer weather could still allow this outdoor event to take place. The details of the food and other protocol could be decided by those interested. The proposed time and place would still be Wickham Woodlands at 6PM, at the date of the regular monthly meeting, Wed, August 19th. If you are interested in taking part in such an event, please contact Julia: dmtjulia@gmail.com or 845-258-4696.
It's SW Membership Renewal Month!
Please renew your membership, and bring along friends and neighbors who want to be part of our community. The suggested annual donation for new membership or renewing a membership is $25, but that amount is waived with no questions asked for anyone who doesn’t want to make the donation. And larger donations will be gratefully accepted. You can make your donations here.
Other Upcoming SW Events (both via Zoom):
Zoom Garden Plot: Monday, July 27th, 8 PM
Vegetarians & Friends: August 10th, 6 PM