SPECIAL EVENTS

Biggest Organic Cookie Event
Sunday, April 27, 2008
12 - 3 pm

500 lb. Cookie Bakeoff to Benefit Greenville Organic Foods Organization

Whole Foods Market and Immaculate Baking Team Up to Support Local Non-Profit

Whole Foods Market and Immaculate Baking Co. have announced baking a 10 foot wide, 500 pound, certified organic chocolate chip cookie to raise money for Greenville non-profit, Greenville Organic Foods Organization’s 4-H Grow Healthy Kids school garden program.

The 4-H Grow Healthy Kids program is focused on educating children on the benefits of eating nutritious, organic whole foods, food production and natural resources and raising their awareness of sustainable practices and environmental stewardship. To date the program has been implemented in 7 Greenville County schools.

“We’re super excited to have Whole Foods Market partner with us in raising money for such a fantastic organization as Greenville Organic Foods Organization,” says Scott Blackwell, Founder and CEO of Immaculate Baking Company.  “This super-sized chocolate chip cookie does two great things: it gives back to our community’s children, and it brings a smile to all who participate!”

“Greenville is very privileged for having local businesses like Whole Foods Market, Immaculate Baking Co. and GOFO passionate about making a difference in the community,” says Viviane Trama, Executive Director of GOFO.  “The 4- H Grow Healthy Kids project aims to reconnect school children to nature, to teach them where food comes from and how it affects their health and the environment.”

The cookie will be made with certified organic ingredients including over 95 pounds of organic chocolate chips, 375 eggs and 165 pounds of flour. Greenville’s biggest organic cookie will weigh over 500 pounds and cover nearly 50 square feet. One pound chunks of the cookie will be sold for a suggested donation of $10, and all monies raised will go to GOFO’s 4-H Grow Healthy Kids program.  With a baking time of nearly 4 hours, the cookie will be unveiled around 2:00 pm, and a representative from GOFO will be on hand to cut and serve the first official piece of the cookie. 

Be sure to come by early to enjoy such festivities as face painting, balloon twisting, kids activities and plenty of samples. The folks at Immaculate will also be offering fresh-baked cookies from their new line of Better Bakes™ “Take & Bake” Cookie Dough.  With all of these activities, this event will be a real community celebration and all for a terrific cause!

Whole Foods Market is located at 1140 Woodruff Road. Festivities for the big cookie bake will commence at noon, Sunday, April 27, 2008, with a rain date set for Sunday, May 4, 2008.  Whole Foods Market will pre-sell pieces of the cookie April 1 - 27 at each of the check out registers.  Donations to GOFO can also be mailed to PO Box 4801, Greenville, SC 29608 or submitted via their website http://www.greenvilleorganicfoods.org

Greenville’s Fifth Annual
Greenville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Noon – 3 p.m.

For the fifth year, Greenville will join dozens of other cities across the nation in hosting a holiday market that leaves shoppers uplifted while enriching communities at home and abroad!  Shoppers at Greenville’s Alternative Gift Fair find gifts to honor family and friends while benefiting a dozen non-profit local, national, and international organizations.  Gone are the feelings of uncertainty and anxiety that are so frequently a part of our holiday shopping experience.  The true spirit of the holiday season prevails in a fun, festive atmosphere, where the buyer always knows the size is right and the gift will not go to waste! The Alternative Gift Fair will take place at Greenville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1135 State Park Road (between Cherrydale Point and Paris Mountain State Park)

At the Alternative Gift Fair, shoppers can choose from a diverse collection of local and international organizations, including the Greenville Rape Crisis and Child Abuse Center, Wildlife Rehab, Lapsits for Early Literacy, and Doctors Without Borders, with established track records of helping people and the environment. Gift-giving opportunities specifically target people and places in need: livestock to a Central American villager, food to a needy local family, health care for rescued wildlife, and much more. Alternative gifts range from $5 to $100 and are all tax deductible. Cash or checks will be accepted. This year give a gift that truly keeps on giving!

Those who make purchases on behalf of friends and relatives can choose beautiful cards with a description of their gift.  Shoppers will also find live music, yummy treats, shade-grown coffee, and international handicrafts at the fair. For more information, including a listing of participating organizations and a sample “shopping list,” see our web link at http://www.geocities.com/altgiftfair/, or call 370-3493. The Alternative Gift Fair is sponsored by the Greenville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and is based on a model by the Center for a New American Dream (see www.newdream.org).

Greenville Farmers Market

LOCAL & NATURAL PRODUCE
 
 Stop by our booth to meet local growers!

Putney Farm (Donna Putney); Richey’s Farm (Marty and Chris Richey); Bio Way Farm (Chris Sermons); Red Fern Farm (Katherine Mizell); Pecan Dale Farmstead ( Kirsten Robertson and Eliza Holcombe)

FRESH PRODUCE GROWN NATURALLY

Fruits and vegetables that are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides. Organic growing techniques involve crop rotation and soil enrichment with "green manure", which encourages biological diversity. It results in a healthier ecosystem and a healthier work environment for all living species.

PRODUCTS YOU WILL FIND AT OUR BOOTH

Kids In The Kitchen
Family and Friends Festival
September 22, 2007

The Association of Junior Leagues International's Kids in the Kitchen program addresses the growing issues of childhood obesity and poor nutrition. Since the early 1970's, the number of overweight children ages 12-19 in the United States has doubled, and the number of overweight children ages 6-11 has tripled. Today, more than 16% of young people ages 6-19 are overweight, and South Carolina ranks eighth in the nation in obesity rates. Current increases in Type 2 diabetes may be one of the first consequences of an obesity epidemic among young people. In its first year, over 225 Leagues across four countries held Kids in the Kitchen events and media coverage reached over 80 million people with messages about the issues surrounding childhood obesity and the Junior League's initiative to address these. Together with our sister Leagues, the Junior League of Greenville has an extraordinary opportunity to help combat potential health problems among today's children and help put the issues related to childhood obesity on the top of our nations' agendas.

On September 22, 2007, JLG held the Kids in the Kitchen Family and Friends Festival at JLG headquarters. The event included healthy cooking classes, exercise classes, and speakers on health related issues and many groups advocating kids health issues including GOFO - 4 H Grow Healthy Kids Program ( organic garden education).

GOFO Board Members had a great time with the kids who came to the booth to plant organic vegetable seeds and grab organic munchies. See these great pictures !

Earth Day At The Library
Saturday, April 14, 2007

Hughs Main Library
Greenville, SC

Click Here To See Earth Day Poster

Click Here To See Earth Day Brochure