Philadelphia Dames invited six major organizations who promote farm-to-table and inner city youth initiatives to talk to the Chapter about their goals, and how the Dames could help them further their initiatives. The Dames determined that raising money would be the best way to impact these organizations.

The Dames decided to create and produce note cards to sell at various Philadelphia events, with the proceeds going to these groups. The note cards depict the local vegetables sold at the Fair Food Farmstand, a farmers market extension of White Dog Enterprises located at Reading Terminal.

The note cards will be available for sale at the LDEI conference, and the Chapter invites other Chapters to sell them as well.
 

The Philadelphia chapter kicked off its Green Tables Initiative with an educational meeting. The work being done in Philadelphia for locally grown food, nutrition education and sustainable agriculture was recognized during the event. Five speakers represented the Urban Nutrition Initiative, Fair Food, Farm to City and The Food Trust, all Philadelphia organizations. With more than 25 Dames present, the speakers impressed the group with the positive work being done to increase awareness about and accessibility of local, nutritious and seasonal food. After the presentations, discussions were held on the challenges of this movement and how Dames can use their collective experience, knowledge and resources to help. Some of the challenges include: a lack of understanding about the real cost of food; the need for volunteers; getting adults involved in healthy cooking; and helping the movement grow in a way that is inclusive but also retains its main principles and integrity. A Green Tables working group was formed to tackle these issues. Potential projects include a local and sustainable food Expo; Dames volunteering with school garden projects or cooking demos; or producing a calendar with seasonal vegetables and recipes for each month as a fundraiser for one or more of the organizations.