What’s the connection between dinner parties and polar bears? No, we’re not suggesting that you serve bear. Cooking one large meal with a small group of friends is more energy efficient than cooking several individual meals in different houses. This reduces the greenhouse gasses responsible for Global Warming, a threat to arctic ecosystems.

Interested? Great, let’s get cooking! First, choose your menu options: something delicious that’s easy to make, like spaghetti and (vegan?) meatballs, fajitas and tacos, a salad, or even some simple sushi rolls. Call a couple of friends, preferably ones who can walk, bike, bus, or carpool to your house easily. The fewer fossil fuels they use to get to your house, the greener your party will be.

If you’ve also been looking for a chance to get to know your neighbors better, or maybe you’re searching for the right occasion to talk to that cutie down the street, don’t be shy; invite them over. Ask each guest to bring one or two of the ingredients you’ll need for the meal and give brownie points for any locally grown, organic, or fair-trade ingredients. When you’re shopping for ingredients, consider organic wine, locally grown fruit, or fair trade chocolate. Don’t forget to use non-disposable dishware.

Now enjoy the company of friends over a delicious, home-cooked meal. If everyone has a good time, why not take turns hosting weekly dinner parties and inviting new friends? You’ll build community, save money on groceries, and enjoy tasty leftovers. And, whether it’s your culinary prowess or the way you suavely compost the kitchen scraps, you might just make a splash with your neighbors as well.

So, if you love the good life, consider throwing dinner parties as a way to build community, reduce waste, supporting organic foods, and even fight Global Warming.

Bon appétit!

Want More? Try Workplace Activism: Bringing Slow Foods to a Fast Paced World

You can bring green dining to the workplace. Choose one day a week when two or three coworkers can team up from home to bring in a homemade lunch for the rest of the office. Ask them to keep track of what they spend on ingredients and have everybody who would like to join in the lunch contribute several dollars to cover the cost. Then rotate through the office to give others a chance to be designated as chef for a day. You can suggest that everyone use organic, locally grown, fair trade ingredients, or you can showcase these ingredients when it is your day to bring lunch.

What’s the payoff? When choosing where to eat lunch during the workweek, we run the risk of eating unhealthy fast foods and using wasteful to-go packaging and we often end up paying more than we would for food cooked at home. Shared lunches are healthier, use less packaging, and they add an important touch of fun and common ground to the workplace while saving you and your coworkers money.

Photo Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jkonig/114636130/