Sustainable Living Fair Returns to Webb Center This Weekend

February 15, 2012

Last year's keynote speaker is returning for Old Dominion University's annual Sustainable Living Fair this weekend in Webb Center, and he's bringing his own film.

"Cafeteria Man" is the story of Tony Geraci's ambitious effort to "green" the public school diet of 83,000 students in Baltimore. A renowned chef who took a job as director of nutrition for the cash-strapped school district, Geraci and his school lunch menus have become a sensation, inspiring other school districts across the country to offer tastier, healthier, more environmentally friendly options for students.

Geraci's film is about the aspiration of social activists and citizens coming together to change the way kids eat at school, overhauling a dysfunctional nutrition system. It's a story about what it takes, and whom it takes, to make a difference.

The film will debut locally at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, following the day's Sustainable Living Fair programs and exhibits, which open at 10 a.m. with an alternative energy program. The film is free and open to the public. To view a trailer of "Cafeteria Man," click on http://www.slfhr.com/keynote.

The Sustainable Living Fair continues Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is sponsored by ODU's Center for Service and Civic Engagement (CSCE), along with Five Points Community Farm Market and Green Alternatives, as a way to engage the campus community in sustainable living concepts, from composting and canning to beekeeping and creating your own oyster beds. Among the many events are programs and exhibits on: enviroscaping, permaculture farming, community gardens, backyard chickens, growing mushrooms, bamboo crafting and spinning and knitting.

Five Points director Bev Sell and Green Alternatives owner Amelia Baker came up with the idea for the fair a few years ago, and brought to ODU last year.

"It's one of our very favorite events to get involved in every year," said Tami Park Farinholt, coordinator of CSCE, a division of ODU's Office of Student Activities and Leadership. "Five Points partnered with Aramark to bring a Community Supported Agriculture program to ODU a year ago. The school has a huge program in April for Earth Day. This Sustainable Living Fair is a culmination of all of these concepts we should be thinking about."

The fair is free and open to the public. For more information and a complete schedule of events, go to http://www.slfhr.com/2012_schedule.