:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::ABOUT THIS GROUP::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The purpose of this group is to learn about living more self-sustainably (including cooking at home), help the environment, save money. We will make more informed choices, eat more healthfully and sustainably, and pool our resources by buying select goods as a group. In these economic times, it makes sense!

One must be creative in these times to save money. You should join this group if you would like to buy in bulk, swap fruit or veggies, or share anything you no longer need with others on your area.

This group is not limited to the San Gabriel Valley, but you should be able to come to meetups periodically if you are participating in a bulk purchase to pick up your items.

This is a very democratic group in that anyone can plan and organize events for the group. If you have an idea for an event, please contact me and I'll make you an event organizer. :)

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Make a difference with an energy efficient refrigerator. And I quote from Boing Boing: "The whole American food system, from farm to fork, accounts for about 10% of the energy we use in this country. Of that, the largest single portion, 32%, is the energy involved in household food storage and cooking. Put it another way: If we reduced agricultural energy use by 5%, nationwide, we'd save about 20 trillion British Thermal Units of energy a year."

But if just 5% of American households got a more efficient refrigerator, we'd save 54 trillion BTU.

For those of you with edible gardens, I've just added a handy planting guide calendar to the photo album (click on "Photos" at left). One of our members just posted some cute pics of her chicken coop, veggie bed and her soil recipe.

PRODUCE EXCHANGE: For those interested in exchanging produce, check out "The Produce Exchange" on Facebook. They meet the 1st Saturday of every month in Monrovia in the mornings: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=7057953...

Think you are doing good with traditional "recycling"? Check out a great 20 minute video called "This Hidden Life of Garbage": http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=59345301562277588...#

Genetically modified foods have been shown to cause organ failure in rats and are in just about all foods not 100% organic...here's where you can find a guide to purchasing non-GMO foods: http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/SG/DownloadtheGuide/in...

Read more on this topic here: http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/SG/AboutGMOs/index.cfm

ALTADENA SUPERKING has great prices on produce Check out their ad online: http://www.superkingmarkets.com/html/SuperKingWeeklyAdAlt...

Please make use of the bulletin board to post your experiences and any other information you think would be useful to the group. :)