Marcia Booth

Fresh, healthier snacks are best for the body. Packaged snacks are normally processed foods that contain chemicals, sugar, added (and unhealthy) ingredients. Reading the label is a must but avoiding those products is even better. 
Besides being a healthier option, it potentially generates less waste as well - we can buy fruits and vegetables using our own bags instead of having to dispose of some kind of packaging.

Working together is the only way we can get there. If everyone does a bit, when we come together focused on a single goal, we make a bigger impact and that's what we should look for. 
Having a house party is an informal, personal way that gives us a chance to communicate better, to share information and understand different points of view as well as explain our goals and get immediate feedback.

Local government doesn't have control over the issue of single-use plastics. For example, plastic bag use cannot be regulated and we have limited control on regulating the use of styrofoam. State legislators made it more difficult for locals to determine what is best for our community.

Keeping my community clean and demonstrating that it can be done little by little. This is something I do in general but am not very good at keeping tabs. I will make a point to pick up at least five pieces of trash every day and log to Literatti in the group (Brevard against Litter) that I created for our area.

When trying to pack leftovers, I can ask for aluminum foil - I have done that before - or try to finish my meal. We haven't been ordering takeout so my challenge will be to _always_ remember to bring in my reusable container to restaurants we go to. I'd like to practice that more so I never forget my own containers, not even when traveling.

We have three cats and they have their different personalities. They are fun to be around. They respond to us in different ways and it is amazing how much they learn - and how much we learn from them. 
In a different phase of my life I put one of the most amazing cats I've ever had up for adoption. Not one day goes by that I don't regret doing that... It makes me really sad to think of him and how much he may have suffered because of my poor decision. It's been over 10 years and I always cry when I think of him. Knowing my cats the way I know now, it makes me really sad to think what I did to him and how confused and scared he must have felt. I can only hope he went to a good home for his last years and the rest of his life was happy.