lifestyles for sustainability

I was asked a few months ago to chair the meal committee for the Lifestyles for Sustainable World symposium here in San Diego. I agreed. I like food...I especially like feeding people. And, though I was given many months notice I, like most would, left a lot to the last minute. I was meant to be organizing and preparing a meal for upwards of 80+ people and it had to be as organic/local/fair trade/seasonal/healthy/vegetarian as possible...oh, and cheap. I'm moving soon to be a cook and thought this would be a great precursor to my such and endeavor. However, as the days got closer to the event I began realizing how much I had yet to do. I had decided to go with a seasonal theme for the meal and then compromised a bit so we could have a hearty soup instead of just a bunch of strawberries and spinach. This way, also, I could prepare most of it ahead of time and freeze it, which is exactly what I did. I froze 30+ liters of soup. I prepared and froze 12 loaves of bread and a gallon or two of strawberry sauce, ordered a flat of mint plants for tea, procured 12 more loaves of bread from a local bakery (Pacific Bakery) and figured out quantities/pricing of vegetables for a huge salad. Of course with any major event like this, there are going to be glitches, especially when one can't help but leave things for the last minute. Given that, I thought I was doing pretty well. However, I had forgotten (or put off) 3 crucial things...1. I was scheduled to work my weekend job that same weekend of the event (supporting a person with a disability); 2. It was going to take a lot longer than the 12 hours I had allotted to thaw all my soup; 3. Dinnerware. It was too late to switch with anyone for work, so I made it work - Andrew agreed to come with me to the conference - I somehow pulled off supporting him and overseeing the meal all at the same time. Then, as I was getting Andrew ready for bed on the eve of the event, waiting for Matt to bring me all the soup so I could take ti directly to the church in the morning, he called..."there's no way this is going to thaw by morning....unless you fill the bathtub with boiling water and let the tupperwares soak repeatedly all night long." !!Sure enough, the enormous block of iced soup we had on our hands, sitting in the sun, would take 5 days to thaw. So, I started boiling water, filling the bathtub and waited. I refilled the tub twice before bed and then woke very early to do it again...and thankfully, it was thawed enough to complete in the pot. I can't even imagine the disaster had my housemates not alerted me of this problem when they did! But, there was still the issue of dinnerware....when preparing for such a conference, it is not as simple as running over to Costco and picking up a 100 count package of styrofoam plates/cups/utensils/bowls....even the paper, compostable/disposable plates and stuff are made out of genetically modified corn! What was I going to do!! I wanted to do was use real stuff, but at this point, compromise seemed inevitable... it was Friday afternoon (the day before the event)...The Methodist church had agreed to bring their silverware and carafes...but I couldn't get a commitment from any other churches for the dishware... I counted my own dishes....weighed my options and just decided to go for it - I wrote an email...pleading my friends and their households to loan us their dishes - bowls, plates, mugs...oh and table cloths and cloth napkins! There was no way I was going to get enough committed in the next 24 hours to serve dinner to 80+ people ...Then, my housemate wrote back...hesitantly, but excitedly committing their dishes and napkins, then another ....and another...And, amazingly, over the next 24 hours, literally to the last hour, ALL of it came together. I had more than 7 households agree to bring what they could of their bowls, plates, mugs, napkins and tablecloths for me to use, and we had plenty!! I made lists of numbers and descriptions of items; labeled the bottoms of dishes and hoped that everything would go back safely to the rightful owner. And at the end of the day, there was one broken mug, a couple mysteriously missing napkins, 10 beautifully set tables, piles of dirty dishes, many willing dishwashers, a tupperware full of compost material and only ONE barely full garbage bag of the few disposable items that we came up with that day. Those were some of the most beautiful moments of my life, watching the meal come together as it did. Hearing the pleasant, satisfied chatter of people enjoying their meal, watching my friends agree to share what most hold so possessively close...as insignificant as dishes and silverware seem it was truly a testimony to the real possibilities of sustainability that a life steeped in community holds! ...and I love it...