Cool Harvest - Interfaith Power & Light

Get Cool Harvest for Your Spring Earth Day Activities

Historically, faith communities have fed the less fortunate by organizing food pantries, soup kitchens, and other programs to combat hunger. Recently, some have broadened that work to include planting community gardens and hosting organic farm stands. Some have provided access to Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) for those living in the nation's "food deserts" — areas with little access to affordable, healthy food.

Now, with the Cool Harvest program, Interfaith Power & Light builds on those successful programs to include an explicit connection for congregations like yours that are also committed to addressing climate change.

“When we think about global warming, we think about transportation, we think about how we heat our houses, but in fact, how we eat has just as big an impact on climate change.” Michael Pollan, from the film Nourish

About one-fifth of climate change pollution comes from the food industry. That’s more than from all transportation combined. The Cool Harvest program will support you educating your community about this issue and in facilitating dialog and action.

What’s Included with the Cool Harvest Kit?

This program is available to the first 1,000 registered congregations for just $15. (Jump to order form.) When you order your Cool Harvest Launch Kit, you will receive:

Nourish (30 minutes, DVD) narrated by Cameron Diaz
With beautiful visuals and inspiring stories, Nourish traces our relationship to food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish illustrates how food connects to such issues as biodiversity, climate change, public health, and social justice. In addition to a half-hour television special, the Nourish DVD includes a collection of 11 short films. Among the offerings: "Supermarket Secrets" with Michael Pollan, "Edible Education" with Alice Waters, and "Herbs" with Jamie Oliver. Appropriate for all ages.

Table Grace in a World Struggling with Climate Change Booklet

Part of the "Thanking God with Integrity" series, this prayer booklet is published by World Vision and written by Willard Metzger of the Mennonite Church. It focuses on the theme of climate change and hunger with prayers that are invaluable for your kitchen table and the potluck table at church. They bind us together with all peoples of the world and to the source of all hope in a relationship of gratitude.

This is an ecumenical booklet, however some faith traditions will have to adapt some of the prayers so they are more in line with their own religions.

Downloadable Portion of the Cool Harvest Organizer's Kit

What Congregations Can Do
Cool Potluck Ideas
Film Screening/Cool Potluck Flyers
Nourish Discussion Guide
Tips for Lowering Your Foodprint
A Climate-Friendly Farm Bill Handout
Sign-Up Sheet
Links to the movie trailer and graphics
Links to other resources

The Seafood Pocket Guide

Eating less red meat is a great way to begin reducing your carbon foodprint. And fish is a great substitute for meat, but only if from sustainably sourced seafood. Many fish populations are stressed from overfishing and destructive fishing practices. Oceans that are in balance are vital to controlling global warming, according to researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Healthy ocean ecosystems absorb a tremendous amount of greenhouse gas. Use this Seafood Watch Pocket Guide to find climate-friendly choices.

Nourish Trailer

Free Resources:

Ideas for a "Cool Potluck" [PDF]

What Your Congregation Can Do [PDF]

Tips for Lowering Your Carbon Foodprint [PDF]

Take Action: Farm Bill

Every few years, Congress passes a massive spending program called the Farm Bill. The tens of billions of dollars in subsidies and supports apportioned by this bill have a tremendous influence on the foods we eat, where they are grown, how much they cost, and the state of conservation in farm country. For decades the Farm Bill has been dominated by Big AgriBusiness. Its narrow focus on factory farms, corn, cotton, wheat, rice, and soybeans has given us a high-carbon, processed food diet, produced by mega farms and mega feedlots.

Download a guide to find out ways you can take action on the Farm Bill. [PDF]

Special thanks to the Nourish Initiative (a Program of WorldLink) for its partnership on Cool Harvest.