It has to be part of our culture to take care of the Earth❣️

Learning to work by collaboration has been an important part of our society’s development. So has cooking, cultivation(etymologically related to the word culture), and community. The common denominator here is connection.We all hopefully spent some time over the holidays connecting, maybe around the dinner table, or through gift giving 🎁. What those 2 things have in common is waste; in the form of wrapping paper, or some uncle’s recipe they decided to try on everyone for the first time... unsuccessfully.
@Lifebeforeplastic wants us to remember that we don’t need to own 20 pairs of shoes, buy something new every season, or upgrade our phones just because a new one came out. Her call to action is that we look after what we have and consume LIFE and not stuff. Over the holidays my sister and I repurposed packaging from items received throughout the year, christmas paper found in closets, rubber bands from the daily mail, and pieces of ribbon found in drawers 🎁 to use wrapping Christmas presents. We bought nothing new and I’m happy to report that each present turned out uniquely beautiful. Thoughtful creativity wins again!
But is that sustainable? Family and friends still tore off all of those repurposed wrappings and they still had to be thrown away. Yes, they did. Though, we were able to show people that there was no need to buy new gift wrap when we have items all around us that work. Would it have been more sustainbale to use colorful cloth that can be reused year after year, sure, but we all have to start somewhere, and in gifting presents in this way, the impact lives in the fact that each of those friends and family members may go on to do the same and share it with someone, maybe just 1 other person, and now there’s a snowball of sustainable action that started as one imperfect idea. For me, thats a Win!
Definitions of Sustainability :
1. The avoidance of depleting of natural resources in order to maintain ecological balance.
2. Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future to meet it’s needs.
3. A way of using resources that could continue forever.
Those are three entirely different definitions. According to Gemini (Google AI), there are over 300
definitions of sustainability. Here’s an idea, if we took all of the green words from the paragraphs
above in this Health Hub handout we could string together our own 301th (❣️) definition:
“Community creatively in balance on Earth continuously and thoughtfully cultivates natural resources to maintain life forever." or “To continuously sustain life on Earth, community cultivates and thoughtfully defines waste to creatively maintain balance forever.”
It’s less about a definition and more about thoughtful habits that consider the impact of everyone’s consumption on the broader World.
We hope you feel inspired to develop your own sustainable practices that harmoniously support culture, community, and the earth it all exists on.
Sustainability Tip: Go to your local library and sign up for a free library card, theyre valid for 3-5 years. Download the Libby app and add your library card.You can now borrow thousands of books without making a single purchase, or transiting to pickup and return books!
*Recipe of the month!
Now let’s Cook! Recipe inspired by an Indonesian dish called Tempe Orek 💙
Tempeh and String bean Stirfry
Ingredients-
]]1 block of Tempeh/ Tofu
1 large Onion
Thumb of Ginger
1⁄4 cup rice vinegar
4 Garlic cloves
1 tbsp Tamarind paste
3 Lime leaves (can leave out)
1⁄3 cup Vegetable oil/or dairy free Butter
Black pepper
3 tbsp Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp Coconut sugar or 2tbsp Maple syrup (honey or agave)
Zest of 1 large Lime/Lemon, 2 tbsp Lime/Lemon juice
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use a nonstick baking tray to roast tempeh/tofu at 375 for 15 minutes.
In a pan with oil, saute onions, garlic, ginger, lime leaves, lime zest, and chili with a pinch of salt.
Chop stringbeans and add to pan. Stir for 7-10 minutes on medium heat.
Add tamarind paste, rice vinegar, soy sauce, a splash of water, black pepper, and a little maple syrup/honey.
Add the tempeh to the pan and cook together for another few minutes, finish with a lemon/lime queeze
Serve with cooked rice or eat proudly directly from the pan 🥣!
Other Reminders
Recuerde registrarse para la entrega del próximo mes.
Tome fotos de sus bolsos y los platos que prepara con ellos y envíenos fotos y etiquétenos en Instagram @thegatonfoundation
Remember to Secure your bag & register for a Give&Go Grocery delivery next month!
Please take photos of your bags, and what you make with your items, tag us on Instagram, and share photos with us 😊, we’d love to learn from you, and your family recipes!
We really hope you enjoy this month’s Grocery bag 💚 - TGF
Email: Thegatonfoundation@gmail.com
Instagram: @Thegatonfoundation.org
Your most powerful medicine is in your mind, in your heart & on your plate.
Students from our partner schools packed these bags for you 😊💙!
* Send us a message on Instagram and let us know how you liked this month's bag🍅.
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