Read all about it!

Fair Trade Delmar Campaign has been receiving some great local media coverage lately as we near our goal of declaring Bethlehem the second Fair Trade town in New York state (Ballston Spa is the first).

Read all about us in the Spotlight: Fair Trade initiative moving forward, Sweet tooth for fair trade and Town Board talks fair trade.

And in the Times Union: Bethlehem could be fair trade town

I have also started blogging on Fair Trade for the Times Union Bethlehem blog - look out for my posts, and feel free to join in the conversation by adding your comments: to date there's Fair Share and Look for the label.

Chocolate - poetic inspiration!

Congratulations to the winners of our recent Chocolate Poetry contest! Here are the winning entries (also published in the Spotlight Newspaper):

CHOCOLATE
Chocolate
Hot fudge sundae
Over the top, yummy
Cocoa
Lovely
Awesome
Tantalizing
Enjoyable
"Sticky delicious mess."

By Tristan Tearoe, 4th grader


Dance to the chocolate
Dance to the music, right?
Wrong! Dance tothe chocolate!
Dance to the chocolate
Dance to the chooooooocolate!
Yay!!!

By Bernie Crane, 2nd grader


Chocolate Poem
Chocolate makes me happy
When I am sad
Chocolate makes me happy
Then I am glad
Chocolate makes me happy
I could eat it every day
Chocolate makes me happy
I hope chocolate never goes away.

By Steven Stitzer, first grader

The three poets read their work aloud very professionally at our Chocolate Sunday event, and were presented with Fair Trade prizes. Books/resources about Fair Trade will also be presented to their schools.

Set Fair for Sunday

Fair Trade Chocolate Sunday is just around the corner! Come and join us this Sunday May 2 from 2:00-4:30pm at Delmar Reformed Church (386 Delaware Ave) for family fun with a chocolate theme.

Design a chocolate wrapper, print a cocoa-card, or try out the Bean to Bar game. There's a chocolate information station and a story-of-chocolate quiz. Hands-on activities will introduce you to Ghana, a cocoa-growing country. And you can find out how Fair Trade helps the farmers who produce the cocoa for our favorite candy treats.

With Mother's Day in mind, shop at our Fair Trade craft market. Or win a great gift in our raffle.

Take part in our Chocolate Challenge to win a free Divine FT chocolate bar! And enjoy a free scoop of Ben & Jerry's FT ice-cream, too.

Come and have fun! We can't wait to see you there!

Fair Trade on the radio

In case you missed it, here's an interview all about Fair Trade with WAMC's Joe Donahue, broadcast this morning.

Click here to learn more about the Ballston Spa Fair Trade conference that was discussed.

Save the date!

Save the date for our Fair Trade Chocolate Sunday on Sunday May 2nd, 2–4:30pm at Delmar Reformed Church, 386 Delaware Ave, Delmar NY.

There'll be lots of fun for families, including a Chocolate Sunday Challenge plus crafts, music, stories and hands-on activities.

Find out where chocolate comes from, sample FREE Fair Trade chocolate and ice cream (with thanks to Divine and Ben & Jerry's), and learn how our chocolate choices can change lives.

See you there!

Calling young poets...

Fair Trade Delmar Campaign invites local children to enter a Chocolate Poetry Contest.

Write a poem inspired by CHOCOLATE and win...chocolate (of course!) and other Fair Trade goodies, plus a book about Fair Trade for your classroom or school library. Winning poems from three age categories will be published in the Bethlehem Spotlight and online on this blogspot.

There will be one winner each in the categories: Grades K-3, 4-5, 6-8

Revised final deadline for entries is Friday April 23rd.

Prizes will be awarded at the Fair Trade Chocolate Sunday event being held at Delmar Reformed Church on Sunday May 2nd - see here for details.

For full competition details, including where to send your entries, click here.

Fair Trade schools

Fair Trade Delmar Campaign enjoyed being part of a World Rally at Bethlehem Middle School last Friday evening. It was a great opportunity to meet kids, introduce them to the ideas behind FT and invite them to try some Fair Trade hot chocolate (made up with locally produced milk) as they thought about the question "How can we make a fairer world?"

We also displayed information about Fair Trade Schools - a thriving movement in the UK (where there are thousands of participating schools) but a new concept here in the USA. Much like the Fair Trade Towns movement, schools commit to meeting five goals:

1) Form a steering committee;
2) Write and adopt a whole-school Fair Trade policy;
3) Buy, use and promote Fair Trade products within school;
4) The whole school learns about Fair Trade issues;
5) The school promotes and takes action for Fair Trade in school and in the wider community.

If you would like to know more about becoming a Fair Trade school, please get in touch: fairtradedelmarny@hotmail.com

Sharing the love

Make Valentine's Day extra-special this year - "share the love" by treating your sweetheart to a fair trade gift.

You can find gifts and jewelry locally at:
Peaceful Inspirations, Four Corners, Delmar
Ten Thousand Villages, Stuyvesant Plaza

And Fair Trade chocolate at:
Delmar Health Hut, Delaware Ave, Delmar
Delmar Reformed Church FT sales table, Four Corners, Delmar
Delmar United Methodist Church, Kenwod Ave
- Equal Exchange FT sale 2nd Sunday of every month (including this Sunday, Feb 14)
Honest Weight Food Coop, Central Ave, Albany
Hannafords, Delaware Ave, Delmar
Price Chopper (Slingerlands bypass)

Here are some lovely cards to download:
Celebrate an Organic Valentine's Day!

And why not ask your local liquor store or favorite restaurant to source some Fair Trade wine?

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Fair start to the New Year

Although we are well into January, it's not too late to make a New Year's Fair Trade resolution.

You probably already have a commitment to choosing the FT option when buying coffee, tea, chocolate and cocoa. But did you know that there are many other FT products out there? Fruit, flowers, wine, sugar, rice, nuts, spices...

If you cannot find these FT products at your local store, please ask! Let the store manager know that you are eager to buy more Fair Trade products and that he/she will earn your customer loyalty by stocking them.

Consumer demand for FT has had a huge influence on manufacturers and retailers in the UK: Fair Trade is definitely mainstream in the British market.

The same change can happen here in the US - but we need to ASK for that change.

Happy New Year!

Fair Trade chocolate sampling

Fifteen members of the Students for Peace and Survival group at Bethlehem High School got together yesterday to learn about Fair Trade. I hope they enjoyed this short video, Fair Trade the Story. Some informed discussion followed. As for the chocolate tasting, I know that went down well - Equal Exchange Milk, Dark with Almond and Extra Dark (71% cacao) Chocolate were enthusiastically sampled. As one student said, "If all Fair Trade chocolate tastes as good as this, I'm definitely buying Fair Trade!"

You can buy Fair Trade chocolate in Bethlehem at:

Delmar Reformed Church (Equal Exchange)
Delmar Health Hut (Divine)
Slingerlands Price Chopper, Organic and Natural section (Equal Exchange, Green & Blacks Maya Gold)
Hannafords

Everyone loves a parade!

The 3rd annual Bethlehem Holiday Parade takes place in Delmar this Friday, Dec 4th, from 6pm. Starting at the Town Hall, floats and fire trucks will parade up Delaware Avenue to Four Corners.

Fair Trade Delmar Campaign will be taking part, handing out FT chocolate and information. Come and cheer us on - or even better, join us.

If you need a cup of Fair Trade hot chocolate to warm you up after the parade, head to Delmar Reformed Church which is holding an Open House and will be glad to welcome you.

And if you are looking for holiday gifts, check out Peaceful Inspirations, open until 8pm this Friday and offering a 15% discount on Fair Trade Christmas ornaments.

Buy Fair, Buy Local for the Holidays

Holiday giving brings joy to our loved ones - and it can really benefit our local and global community, too. How about making up a basket of Fair Trade goodies for someone special this year? Here are some places in Bethlehem where you can buy Fair Trade:

Peaceful Inspirations - gifts
Delmar Farmers' Market at Delmar Presbyterian Church (Delaware/Cherry Ave), Saturdays 9am-1pm - gifts, coffee
Delmar Marketplace - coffee
Delmar Health Hut - coffee, chocolate, personal care products etc
Delmar Reformed Church (not-for-profit table) - coffee, tea, chocolate, nuts etc
Hannafords (organic and natural section) - various
Price Chopper (organic and natural section) - various

And while you are out shopping, why not take a FT break at one of these cafes:

Perfect Blend
Java Jazz
Four Corners Luncheonette
Brueggers
Dunkin' Donuts

Keep on supporting Fair Trade all year round and help build a fairer more sustainable world.

The weekend the world came to Delmar!

There was a great turnout for the two Fair Trade craft markets held over the past weekend (November 14 & 15). Congratulations to the organisers of both these excellent events, held at Delmar Reformed Church and Delmar United Methodist Church. I lost count of the number of countries that were represented - Malawi, Vietnam, Ecuador, Tibet, Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan...the list was endless. And the crafts were BEAUTIFUL.

Different vendors attended each of the events, so well done those shoppers who came out on Saturday and Sunday and saw the best of both!

If you missed these sales, don't despair - there will be another chance to shop Fair Trade for the holidays on December 12 and 13 at St Thomas School, Delmar, after each Mass (from 5 pm on Saturday, and 7:30, 9, 10:30 am and 12 noon on Sunday). Again it will be a whole new set of vendors, so even those who came to this month's events won't want to miss out!

Thank you, shop hoppers!

THANK YOU to everyone who participated in Delmar's First Fair Trade Shop Hop. It's great that many local independent businesses are supporting Fair Trade, and that customers are showing they appreciate this commitment.

The lucky winners of the Shop Hop prize drawing have now been chosen and contacted. Congratulations all you winners! Thanks go to the businesses who donated gift vouchers: Ten Thousand Villages (Stuyvesant Plaza), Delmar Health Hut, Peaceful Inspirations and Java Jazz Cafe.

To those who took part but didn't win a prize - better luck next time! Meanwhile, please keep on promoting social justice by supporting Fair Trade in our community. Together we'll make Delmar a Fair Trade Town!

Fair Trade Faithful

Many faith groups have long been supporters of Fair Trade, as they recognize the compatibility of this movement with their beliefs and mission aims. We are delighted that several local churches are backing our campaign to make Delmar a Fair Trade Town.

The following all have a long-standing committment to Fair Trade:

Delmar Reformed Church serves FT refreshments after services and has a not-for-profit FT sales table in the lobby, available to the public. DRC will host a Fair Trade Market with multiple vendors on Saturday, November 14, 11am-5pm. All welcome.

Delmar United Methodist Church also prioritizes the use of FT products for its congregation, and provides a monthly sale of Equal Exchange goods. There will be a Fair Trade Fair at the church with vendors from throughout the Capital District on Sunday, November 15, 10:30am - 2pm. All welcome.

St. Thomas the Apostle Church is another long-term Fair Trade supporter, with regular sales to the congregation of FT coffee and, most recently, chocolate. An annual Fair Trade market - The Work of Human Hands sale - will be held at St Thomas School after ALL of the masses at the church on the weekend of December 12 and 13 (5 pm on Saturday and 7:30, 9, 10:30 am and 12 noon on Sunday. Open to all.

With so many Fair Trade markets to choose from right here in Delmar, it should be easy to find wonderful FT gifts for friends and family this holiday season. There will be different vendors at each event, so why not attend them all!

Gifts that give twice

Last Shop Hop stop is...

Peaceful Inspirations
384 Kenwood Ave, tel: 439 6537




A great place to buy locally made or Fair Trade gifts, including jewellery and toys.

More than just lunch

Today's shop hop focus is on

Four Corners Luncheonette
2 Grove St, tel: 439-0172





Have a great meal at the cozy luncheonette, and follow it with a cup of Fair Trade coffee. Baked goods, snacks and FT coffee also available at Delmar Farmers' Market most Saturdays.

FT coffee to go

Today we're dropping in on...

Delmar Marketplace
406 Kenwood Ave, tel: 439 3936

You can pick up a Fair Trade coffee to go here - choose from a range of seasonal flavors: Autumn Harvest, Mountain Blueberry, Pumpkin Spice...

...or traditional Breakfast Blend.

And you can stock up on Newman's Own, too.

Perfect cup of coffee

Another stop on our shop hop tour is the:

Perfect Blend Cafe
376 Delaware Ave, tel: 439-6537





Order a Nicaraguan organic Fair Trade coffee - you won't regret it.

Perfect Blend supports many great causes, including raising funds in support of a high school education program in Belize.

Blown away at the Market

The rain held off on Saturday morning, but it was cold and windy and in the last hour at Delmar Farmers' Market awnings started to fly and the Fair Trade display nearly blew away. But it was still good to be there, at least 70 shop hop passports were distributed, and customers were seeking out our stall to get their passports stamped.