Since this holiday centers around meals with loved ones, we have a bunch of holiday food tips for you to feast your eyes on.

First, we have a VERY informative infographic >about strategies for having a lower-impact holiday celebration. And then there's this – an oldie but goodie from the Huffington Post: 10 Tips for a Sustainable Thanksgiving 

The 2014 Edible Austin Eat Drink Local Week(EDLW) is coming up December 6–14th. They invite you to support locally sourcing restaurants andcook meals throughout that week entirely with local ingredients. We at Austin EcoNetwork challenge you to start sooner and practice with meals dining out and in during the long Thanksgiving weekend.

And remember, the best place to find the best ingredients for your Thanksgiving meal is at your local farmers market. Our local farmers have everything you need for a delicious, home-cooked Thanksgiving feast—from turkey to sweet potatoes to pecans for pie!
There are several Farmers Markets  you can still go to before Thanksgiving. We encourage you to support our partners, including the SFC Downtown, Sunset Valley, East, and Triangle farmers markets, as well as the Texas Farmers Market at Cedar Park and Mueller.

And if you choose to spare the turkey, here are some articles and recipes that highlight the delicious bounty of plants to keep you happy and well fed during the holiday season: 

• 22 Delicious Meatless Mains to Make for Thanksgiving via Buzzfeed: This mouth-watering recipe list includes everything from stuffed butternut squash to grilled chipotle lime cauliflower steaks. Look through them all>>
• A Well Vegetarian Thanksgiving via the New York Times: Bring out your fancy side with this list of gourmet vegetarian meals for the holidays>>

 

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[Black Friday] And as soon as Thanksgiving ends, the shopping madness begins with Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. But it doesn't have to be so crazy. I urge you to revisit this comprehensive blog of how to approach the gift-giving season called "Very Best Tips for Meaningful and Green Gift Giving (Mostly Austin)".
Also see this article, 18 Excellent Gifts for Kids that Aren't Even Toys, for more tips on leaving Black Friday crowds behind and still get your children (of all ages) presents they'll be sure to love.

Reminder that the following day is Small Business Saturday.  Reward yourself and your community by shopping local:

• Find green products and services in Austin EcoNetwork's EcoDirectory includingactive gifts such as Bicycle Sport Shop gear, Cypress Valley zip line tours, and outdoor classes with the Earth Native Wilderness School.
• Edible Austin has a fun list of local household products and services that covers everything from pet stores (don't forget your furry friends) to furniture makers to green household cleaning services.
• Go Local allows you to browse by neighborhood and has categories including Green Services as well as Farmers' Markets and Coops.
• Search LocallyAustin.org for local businesses in categories including "Shop Zero Waste."
• Austin Independent Business Alliance has a great list too!

One store you might want to stop by on Saturday isTreeHouse, Austin's ownsustainable home improvement store. The business has been getting a lot of big press lately, with articles in both The Guardianand Grist. These news outlets report that TreeHouse has big plans to open up a store in every major market within 10 years. Keep up the good workTreeHouse!
 

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Most of you know we hit our first fundraising target of $10,000 on Indiegogo. Hooray! Building on that success, plus some in-kind contributions, we are ready to tackle our next round of fundraising to get closer to ourfull budget of $31,770.
Luckily, just in time for our next round of fundraising is a BRAND new crowd-funding platform called Crowdera that charges NO FEES!That means every dollar you contribute goes directly toward our voter education project.

On top of that we got a generous $5000 matching gift challenge from Kirk Mitchell. 

So as of today we are launching a brand new $15,000 campaign on Crowdera. [Note: it will look better over the next week]. Give and get get fun perks!
 

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[Giving Tuesday] Give the best gift of all this holiday season – a sustainable future for your and your family, by donating to the Election Navigator voter education project on #GivingTuesday.

The planet is at a crossroads and the decisions that we make here in Austin really do matter on a global scale. Where we get our energy, how we source our water, the decisions we make about our transportation system, all affect the climate.

Give yourself the gift of an Austin City Council packed with leaders committed to advancing sustainability. We are hard at work informing voters about the importance of this election, but we can't do it without your help. Give here>>
 

• Save Barton Creek Association Party/Annual Membership & Awards Banquet – Monday, Nov. 24th from 6pm to 10pm at the Zilker Clubhouse,  featuring a Thanksgiving Buffet courtesy of The Salt Lick (BBQ), and Live Music by the Barton Springs Troubadours Bill Oliver and Friends! More info>>
• Seventh Annual Austin "Green" Holiday Party – Wednesday, Dec. 3rd from 6pm to 10pm at Barr Mansion. Live music and sit-down dinner co-hosted by the Austin EcoNetwork, USGBC-Central Texas Chapter, Solar Austin, Austin Zero Waste Alliance, SEED Coalition, Texas Campaign for the Environment, Texas Solar Energy Society, Chicas Verdes, Climate Buddies, Green Sanctuary Ministry and Public Citizen. More info>>
• Sierra Club Holiday Party – Tuesday, Dec. 9th from 6:45pm to 10pm at Barr Mansion. More info>>
• The SOS Holiday Party will be held Friday, December 12th from 6pm to midnight at a NEW LOCATION – Scholz Garten! Come for the annual fest with the reliably lively live music, AMAZING silent auction, and the unveiling of SOS's new logo/branding and a brand new Barton Creek Greenbelt Application. More details coming soon.

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[Austin EcoNetwork] We are still working on putting together the 2014 Green Year in Review, so please remember to send us your submissions including major accomplishments and milestones from your organization/ business/ department by DECEMBER 8th. Make sure we know about recognition and awards you earned as well as awards you gave out.
Note, our holiday publishing schedule: 

• No newsletter on Thanksgiving
• Special Election edition Monday December 1st
• Regular EcoNews Thursday Dec 4th and 11th
• Post-election recap and holiday edition December 18th
• Then we will take a break for a week, publish a special New Year's Day 2014 Year in Review on Thursday January 1st.
• We will resume normal newsletters on Thursday January 8th

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[Election] The Election Navigator has been retooled for the runoff elections.  We got new artwork designed, new Eco-Keys created, endorsement lists updated and included on the runoff pages for each race.
This site helps voters compare the finalists including who got which endorsements, the candidates’ answers on 56 questions, videos and more.  You can find that here>>

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[Recycling/Zero Waste] Did you know? You can now bring 

your food scraps to SFC Farmers’ Markets Downtown and at Sunset Valley and Compost Pedallers will turn them back into organic soil for growing more great food! Yet another reason to make the Farmers' Markets a part of your weekly routine.

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[Awards] Keep Austin Beautiful award nominations are being accepted now through Nov. 24th. Each year with this award, Keep Austin Beautiful recognizes the efforts of individuals and groups working to protect and enhance Austin's natural environment. If you know of a project, person, or group that deserves this recognition, nominate them here>>
 

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[Happy Hour] Calling all you 20 and 30 somethings! TheYoung Sierrans Happy Houris Dec. 1st at 6pm at Uncle Billy's on Barton Springs Rd. And to spice things up a bit,CleanTX will also be joining in on the fun. Bring a friend and some good ideas for future Young Sierrans events. More info>>
 

 

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[Food] Get your tickets now for an unforgettable evening with Dan Barber in his first Texas appearance to talk about his new book, "The Third Plate: Field Notes on the Future of Food." This event is presented by Edible Austin and the Paramount Theatre, and features musical guest Michael Fracasso. It will be held on Monday, Dec. 8th at 6pm.  Get tickets>>
 

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[Gardening and Landscaping] TreeFolks' Big Tree Giveaway has beenpostponed due to weather. The original event was scheduled for this Saturday, Nov. 22nd at the Sunset Valley Farmers Market. The free tree extravaganza has been rescheduled for Saturday, Dec. 13th at the same place, from 9am to 1pm. More info>>