Are you passionate about the environment and being “green”? Join Global Greenup the first Friday of every month to enjoy a free organic beer and wine tasting along with some networking and a guest speaker. Global Greenup welcomes everyone!

According to the event invitation, the group includes  a lively mixture of people from non-profit organizations, academia, government, corporate/business world as well as private citizens.

October’s event will be held at Whole Foods Market in Mandarin, located at 10601 San Jose Boulevard at the Lifestyle Center inside the Whole Foods Market.

Guest speaker Richard Villadoniga is the leader and founder of the Slow Food First Coast (FL) Chapter, a non-profit organization that seeks to transform the food system into one that is based on quality and pleasure, environmental sustainability and social justice. Topics for discussion include the organization’s activities, such as establishing local CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture), organizing Farm to Table dinners and Farm to Restaurant workshops, creating a local campaign for better school food, and partnering with small family farms and migrant workers.

Villadoniga is a teacher in St. Johns County and a former Teacher of the Year. He is a contributing food and travel writer for the St. Augustine Record and his articles have also been featured in Saveur, Water’s Edge Magazine, Palm Coast Lifestyles, Farmers’ Markets Today, the Bon Appetit Editors Blog and on Fiery-Foods.com. 

This is a great opportunity to learn how to encourage and support sustainable agriculture in your communities and do some networking at the same time!