What a fun gathering we had in August to celebrate TVCR volunteers and donors!

Keeping in line with TVCR’s mission to reduce waste in Teton Valley, we managed to pull off an almost zero waste event – except for the accidentally broken wine glass (oops! not recyclable). Not bad for a two-hour event for 40 people with wine and appetizers.

 

      

 

We had a lot of fun putting together an event that emphasized using non-sellable or waste items. It started with our drink selection.  TVCR Board Chair and wine broker, Jo Wildnauer was able to procure a selection of mislabeled or discontinued but still delicious wines for us to enjoy. Christmas in August, anyone?  Our supporters at Grand Teton Brewing collected dented beer cans for us to drink and the team at Highpoint Cider supplied us with a stash of mislabeled cider cans.  All of the beverages were wonderful – and low waste!  Cans are being recycled and glass bottles will be crushed locally for reuse as road bed substrate.

 

 

 

The appetizer menu created by chef Andrea consisted of delicious creations made from fresh produce harvested at Board Treasurer Sue Miller’s Snowdrift Farm and food rescued from the landfill by CRC’s Food for Good.  It included zucchini-cauliflower blinis with cashew butter and citrus-watermelon rind marmalade (yum!), amazing “What’s Left Crackers” made from juicer pulp, carrot top pesto, and zucchini brownies.

 

   

 

We also had fun making the event low waste by reusing non-recyclable grayboard for all of our signs and name tags. Cheerios, anyone?  The highlight of the event was connecting with our dedicated volunteers and our devoted donors who give year after year to keep TVCR going. These donations allow us to offer school and community programs for free including our TerraCycle collection, Bags to Benches plastic recycling, and Pierre’s Pedal Project.

 

         

 

We celebrated our volunteers with a gift of Tru Earth Laundry Strips so they can break away from bulky plastic laundry jugs. Supporters Laura and Randy Curtis also donated some lovely to-go cutlery sets which were a big hit amongst our volunteers.  TVCR utilized our soon-to-be-released-to-the-public “zero waste party kit” donated by Ann-Toy Broughton which includes reusable/washable dishes for ~ 70 people including wine glasses, plates, silverware, pitchers, and some serving utensils. We are currently working out the logistics on how to make this “kit” sharable in the community while still covering costs for storage and any damage. Stay tuned.

Thanks again to the TVCR Board and staff for all of your help in hosting this great event and to our wonderful donors and volunteers who attended.  We hope to see even more of you next year!