Not only will we be celebrating our independence come July, but we’ll also be celebrating independents. That’s because July 1 through July 7, 2012 is the 10th anniversary of National Independents Week (or “Indie Week” if you’re cool). This is the week that everyone is encouraged to shop locally and support independent businesses.

A great place to start is by visiting Local First Arizona where you can find a directory of local business and learn how to “Shift the Way you Shop”. According to the website, for every $100 spent at a locally owned business, $73 remains in the local economy and $27 leaves . In contrast, when you shop at a business that is not locally-owned, only $43 remains in the local economy and $57 leaves.

Shopping local re-circulates your money over and over, creating more tax revenue to the state and your community. Not only do local businesses help to drive the economy, but they also support sustainability and add character and uniqueness to the community. You’ll also probably get better and more personal service.

In honor of Independents Week, Local First Arizona is offering a “Golden Coupon” where you can get 20% off at participating local establishments.

So, go ahead and take the pledge to shop locally and support your community merchants. Then head down to the farmer’s market, the Melrose District or your favorite local restaurant and help build our economic independence during Independents Week.

It’s officially spring, which means just one thing in Arizona. Downtown Phoenix is going to be unreasonable hot really soon. Lucky for you and your electric bills, Energize Phoenix has just the fix for your energy bill needs.

Energize Phoenix will be holding an energy fair, “it’s Easy with Energize Phoenix”, this Saturday, March 24th at the Burton Barr Library from 10 – 2.

The event is open to the public and the best part, attendees will be eligible for double rebates for their energy efficient home improvement. Phoenix home owners and businesses along the 10 mile, light rail, can sign up for a free energy check and receive up to $3,000 in rebates. That may be enough to cover the entire energy project.

Approved contractors will be at the event to answer questions and identify opportunities. Rebates will be doubled for the day only, so sign up for you improvements that day. And, attendees who ride the light rail and show ticket fare will receive a free CFL bulb! Which reminds me, I need to replace that one in the hallway….

To find out if you qualify visit the Energize Phoenix Website, or call 602 495-5275.

For those of you unable to attend last nights sustainability event downtown, you missed out on a panel of exceptional experts, conversation, and ideas to benefit our city.

The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center was filled with almost 400 community members. The forum was filled with heated debate but after all was said an done, the panelists encourages more community and individual involvement to reach solutions.

So What can you do? Well here are a few ideas:

• Install Solar panels – A great way to take advantage of the Arizona Sun and cut down on energy usage. This can be a pricey investment, but with incentive programs and leasing options, it is worth it in the end and may add value to your home.
• Green Remodeling and Demolition – looking to fix that fixer upper? A local green demo and remodeling service for residential homes can be a great way to make a green friendly decision.
• Green Landscaping – You don’t need to be a botanist to know your lawn needs water to survive in Arizona. Choose plants that thrive in our climate or find an ecofriendly landscaper to find them for you.
• Use a Paperless system at your business – If every U.S. home received and paid its bills online, annual greenhouse gas emissions would drop by 2.1 tons. Seriously
• Unplug electronics, battery chargers and other equipment when not in use – Taken together, these small items can use as much power as your refrigerator.
• Bring reusable bags to do your grocery shopping. – Or bring your old plastic bags to the store, they’re not helping anyone under your sink. Some stores even give you 10 cents off your groceries for every bag you bring.

So get started today! And check out the Environmental Sustainability Programs Phoenix had developed to help us become one of the country’s leaders in sustainability!

Derek Slife at the Downtown Public Market

So, I’ve been a member of a food co-op for about 4 years now. Great idea, you know. You skip the grocery store and just pick up an order of fruits and veggies.

Interestingly enough, the biggest drawback was also the biggest opportunity. Each order consists of just what the co-op organizers happen to get in bulk that week. That’s a pain if you don’t know what to do with 50 Russian Babushka Radishes. But I found that getting an order of food that was unfamiliar pushed me to cook with things that I thought I would never use.

As a result, I’m a master chef….. just ask my dog.

But another drawback I’ve noticed is that the food I get with Bountiful Baskets is not grown locally. Although, you can order organic options, much of food comes from California.

Enter Chow Locally, stage left.

Founders Christopher Wharton and Derek Slife believe that we do just as much for our country by sourcing food locally, reducing carbon emissions and keeping money in our community.

To that end, they have a business model that is really quite unique. Using their website you can choose what you want during the week and pick it up on Saturday or Sunday from any one of several farmers’ markets. Check out this link to see how it works.

Warton and Slife actually won the Arizona’s Next Great Business award by National Bank of Arizona for this model. Ordering ahead of time certainly does solve the problem of getting little food surprises in your order, like Scandanavian Dwarf Bananas.

Each box comes with useful recipes, etc.

Now, if you are worried about cost, I would not be. I compared both food co-ops. While Chow Locally is a couple dollars ($19) more than Bountiful Baskets ($16.50) and you get only about 80% of what comes in a Bountiful Baskets order, it is still much more than you could buy at Safeway for the same amount of money. Either way, you still get enough food to last for two weeks.

I enjoyed trying this and I enjoy having the excuse to visit the public market every other Saturday (twist my arm).

Give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Though your evergreens are glistening in your living rooms now, in a few days when the presents have been unwrapped and the decorations put back into storage, you’ll be left with the eternal question of Christmas. What do I do with this tree?

Well, the City of Phoenix has joined forces with to Z Equipment Rental & Sales to offer a free drop of location for your lightly used trees.

Christmas tree drop-off locations, by area:

• North Phoenix: Deer Valley Park, Utopia Road and 19th Avenue
• Paradise Valley Park, 40th Street, south of Union Hills Drive
• Sereno Park, Sweetwater Avenue and 56th Street
• Cactus Park, 3800 W. Cactus Road
• Mountain View Park, Peoria and Seventh avenues.
• Central, West, East Phoenix: Marivue Park, Osborn Road and 59th Avenue
• Washington Park, Maryland and 23rd avenues
• Madison Park, Glenrosa Avenue and 16th Street
• Los Olivos Park, Devonshire Avenue and 28th Street
• Desert West Park, Encanto Boulevard and 67th Avenue.
• South Phoenix: El Reposo Park, Alta Vista Road and Seventh Street
• Mountain Vista Park, 50th Street, north of Ray Road
• Cesar Chavez Park, 35th Avenue and Baseline Road
• Desert Foothills Park, Desert Foothills and Chandler Boulevard.

Trees must be stripped of their Christmas spirit, aka decorations, and dropped off between Dec 26th and January 8th.   Trees will be recycled and turned into mulch for city parks. (tree-cycling)

For more information, call 602-262-7251 or visit phoenix.gov/publicworks.

This time of year means a lot of energy consumption. Between all of the electronic games you give your kids and Christmas decorations, there will be spikes in energy bills across the city. (Especially if I can get a hold of one of those Kinect things. I’m gonna dance my tushie off.)

But one organization is here to help. The City of Phoenix is offering huge cash incentives to make your home more energy efficient.

The Energize Phoenix Program is offering energy-efficient improvements to neighborhoods along the light rail downtown.  Energize Phoenix has been fortunate to call on an established base of private-sector contractors experienced in energy efficiency work and programs. Not only will the program will provide cost-effective energy upgrades, but when you choose to update old, energy sucking appliances, they will shell out the cash to match the rebate that comes with energy saving production, all in the name of reducing energy consumption.

In 2010 the program was awarded 25 Million from the Better Building Program. Energize Phoenix aimed to upgrade 2,000 homes and 30 million square feet of business space. That’s right. This money will go towards commercial, residential, and industrial space all along the 10 mile “Green Rail”. The program hopes to reduce energy use in homes by 30% and commercially by 18% by 2013. And their well on their way.

On Wednesday, Energize Phoenix announced new territories, expanding their effort from Central and Missouri Avenues to Washington and 44^th Streets. According to an Energize Phoenix representative, Phoenix is  “presented with a unique opportunity to become more green’ by making homes and businesses more energy efficient through the Energize Phoenix program. Downtown Phoenix is an ideal area for Energize Phoenix because the homes and businesses are among the oldest building stock in the city, which often translates to less efficient buildings.”

Of course this effort isn’t just in the name good doing and green living. It’s for research! Over the next few years, they hope to “evaluate energy savings of Energize Phoenix through macro statistical analysis of all projects and individual case studies of select projects.” That sounds science-y, right? It just means, they’re going to find out what works. Energize Phoenix is also, at its core, an effort to raise awareness and turn the green corridor into a mass energy saving community. 

The Phoenix Business Journal recently praised Phoenix for boasting “one of the nation’s top clean economies” in the nation. It seems they would be better off praising Warren Buffet for getting a part time job at McDonalds.

What I mean is why is Phoenix only ranked 20^th? This beautiful city is ranked behind other cities such as New York, Chicago, Washington, and Philadelphia. And the last I checked we are one of the sunniest cities in the nation.

Want to know something even more pitiful? Phoenix added only 4,000 jobs between 2003 and 2009, ranking it 34^th in the nation.

34^TH!?!

I realize I shouldn’t be so negative since Phoenix does boast almost 23,000 jobs in the clean job sector.  Any job is a good job, right?

But I still can’t get over the fact that this is a far cry from what it should be given our prime location for clean renewable energy. In fact, the Phoenix area has the potential to power the entire state with solar energy. Not only that, but clean renewable energy brings high-paying jobs and can help stabilize our local economy and the Phoenix real estate market! This is a no-brainer and we need to take advantage of our amazing location.

Granted there have been large energy companies taking root in the Phoenix area, First Solar Inc. and Suntech Power Holdings, but it seems to be the economy that is holding other companies back.

I have a friend at a large employee placement firm who is telling me that they are placing many new employees in Arizona as renewable energy jobs are created. But, he says, we could be moving so much faster if we can just get over the economic hurdle.

“When the capital markets get going, you’re going to see the market really take off,” said Steve Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council.

Until then, write your legislator and tell them we want solar jobs today!

Globally Acclaimed Event Makes its Phoenix Debut at Downtown’s Historic Icehouse

SATURDAY, APRIL 30, 2011

THE ICEHOUSE  |  429 W JACKSON ST,  PHOENIX AZ 85007

7pm Potluck  |  9pm Slideshow

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Phoenix, AZ (March 24, 2011) Slideluck Potshow’s singular mashup of art and food makes its Phoenix debut with a twist … a farmers market collaboration with the Phoenix Public Market. PHOENIX PUBLIC MARKET is a program of Community Food Connections (CFC), a non-profit that provides fresh, locally grown produce and foods at downtown’s Urban Grocery and Wine Bar and Wednesday/Saturday open air farmers’ market at Central Avenue and Pierce Street.

SLIDELUCK POTSHOW, a New York City-based non-profit arts organization, brings together arts-appreciators and foodies for an unforgettable evening. Phoenix co-producer Kristin Altman explained, “The event began in a Seattle backyard ten years ago and now spans the globe to cities including London, São Paolo, Milan, L.A., Barcelona, Chicago, Mexico City, Stockholm, Rome, Washington DC, New Orleans, San Francisco, Madrid, Berlin, New York, Paris, and more.  As a Phoenix native, I’m excited to make our mark.”

The night begins with mingling and dining on the home-cooked dishes of attendees. Then the lights go down, the crowd is hushed, and a stunning slideshow begins. Attendees are encouraged to use ingredients from the Phoenix Public Market … pick up some vegetables, fruits, meats, breads, cheeses, pastas, or other goods at the farmers’ market or Urban Grocery and Wine Bar the week of the event and use it in your potluck dish … doing so gets you $5 back at the door.

CFC’s executive director Cindy Gentry and her supporters have made it their mission to increase access to fresh, nutritious food in underserved areas, promote economic development opportunities for farmers and micro-businesses, and provide a community gathering space that celebrates Phoenix’s cultural diversity. Dispelling the notion that fresh food is a luxury, Gentry keeps prices low and has empowered customers to use food stamps. A champion of all things local, her work is a testament to the values of simplicity, value, and community. “We’re excited about tying food and art together at this event,” Gentry said. “People who appreciate the art of a good, hearty meal often find pleasure in the visual arts as well. This event is about exploring all those senses. It fits with the food movement. It’s a sign of our times.”

Davin Lavikka, owner of Method Art gallery in the Scottsdale Arts District, and Wayne Rainey, owner-partner of Bokeh Gallery downtown Phoenix, are curating the art submissions. Artists featured will be a captivating mix of the accomplished and the up-and-coming. Lavikka enthused, “I’m thrilled to be part of this. We’ll be bringing all types together – supporters of the arts, food enthusiasts, students, people eager for a different kind of night out. Sitting at the historic Icehouse surrounded by friends, in front of the glowing screen, taking it all in – this is what the arts are all about.”

CONTACT:  Kristin Altman 323 807 8430 & Richard Ross 773 343 5696  /  slpsphoenix@gmail.com

For those of you new to Phoenix, you may not know that just about this time of year you can get all the free grapefruit and oranges you want over in the Arcadia neighborhood.

Some of the owners of these massive, lush properties have more fruit than they know what to do with. Many of these trees are left over from when this area was all orchards. Some are newer.

Had you driven last weekend along Exeter or Lafayette Boulevards between 44th and 64th Streets and you would have seen many massive boxes on palettes full of fruit, or just piles of fruit along the side of the street.

I was showing properties along there this weekend and we stopped to pick up about 30 grapefruit for my clients.

The idea here is to get the fruit off the ground so the roof rats don’t have anything to eat.  But it is a wonderful way to provide food and beauty at the same time.

Which brings me to my rant for the day.

We waste millions of gallons of water per year on decorative orange trees in Phoenix, as well as trees that could produce dates, figs, pecans and olives. Instead of just tossing these in the landfill, we could produce a millions tons of food for people to, you know, actually eat!

People have said to me that we don’t want more fruit trees because it will encourage roof rats. Well, decorative orange trees attract roof rats, we have to clean them up and we don’t get any benefit from them.

We just have to handle the edible fruit wisely: harvest it and get it picked up right away.

I think we should encourage a culture of urban harvesting in Phoenix. We are not talking about a massive undertaking here. Just a change in awareness.

I’ve harvested about 20 pounds of pecans from the two trees here at my condo complex. That, my friends, is a lot of pies.

We are excited to bring you the First Annual Phoestivus Market on December 15th, 2010.

We hope that this will be the start of a new tradition in Arizona. Because, really? Who doesn’t like a gifts, food and chestnuts on a cool(ish) Arizona December evening?

We are highlighting locally-owned, organic and locally produced food and wares.

For Visitors:

We will be at the Phoenix Public Market at 14 East Pierce in Downtown Phoenix. (Map it)

We are very grateful for our event co-sponsors: CenPho.com, CO+HOOTS, Downtown Phoenix Partnership, Grand Avenue Merchant’s Association, Local First AZ, Phoenix Community Alliance, Phoenix Public Market and Roosevelt Row.

For Venders:

Please Note: The application deadline has passed for new vendor applications. Please direct questions to Monika.

Application — As this is our first year, we are adapting the normal application that the good folks at the Downtown Public Market use. Download the Vendor Application and guidelines. Please send application to Monika at monika@afterthediet.com. You can fax your application to 602-256-0117.
Cost –– Info coming soon.
Deadline for Application: December 5, or until the 20 spots are reserved (first come, first serve).
Other Conditions: Only locally-grown or produced goods and foods. Please see the application for guidelines.
Questions: Please contact Monika at monika@afterthediet.com or at 623.486.0737.

For Everybody:

Please help us spread the word. Please download the image of the poster  and share it on email, Facebook or whatever floats your boat. (See here for Phoestivus Poster.pdf or click here for the JPEG version)

For this event, we are looking for holiday-themed products and food to help us make this First Annual Phoestivus Market memorable. Please focus your attention, decoration and inventory in that direction.