Natalie Abrams

1. Are you progressing at the expected rate? Why or why not?

Hello all, I chose five actions that I hope will help me connect to community and environment. I will push to advocate for better recycling (and composting) options at my workplace; find a way to connect more deeply/ give back to the various groups that are within my life ( a religious center we use for daycare, a parents group for our neighborhood, a professional networking group); support a sharing economy (and help declutter our house in the process); and do an online energy audit of our home and my workplace. Over the next week I will also prioritize fixing two faucets at work we have that have small leaks when running. I appreciate the various resources we have used (time, other people's energy, or consumerist choices) in moments when my own capacity was low. However, now I am at a point in my life where I have capacity to put my own energy out into the world to do more to help others, and to try and "repay" some of the resources that we have consumed.

Hello all!
I have a few areas of life that could be impacted by sustainability choices: most glaringly as a leader of a large commercial food service/ manufacturing operation, secondly as a mother who has a lot of decisions daily about how to make my children's consumption a little less impactful, and last as an individual existing in the chaotic space where ease is often prioritized over long term effect.
There is a lot I hope to accomplish by being more accountable, However, there is also a lot that I wish we could push for more within the commercial space, since we are all able to make an impact, but business has the ability to change the operational standard in a way that would be easier to monitor, enforce, and ultimately be 10s, 100s, or thousands of times more effective than what we do as individuals.
First and foremost, we try as a family to support our local ecosystem every week by making a big chunk of our weekly grocery run from the farmers market. While it is more expensive, we use EBT funds that the schools have continued to allocate NYC children, and purchase bulk items that are often offered at a discount (several bunches of greens, etc). At the same time, we bring the compost we stash up all week in our freezer; not the most delicious of activities but one that helps us reinforce to our kids thinking about our impact on the world, which can feel sometimes otherwise removed when living in the city.
As the leader of a commercial kitchen, I am frankly more concerned about trying to keep my different line items within budget; which means that rate hikes recently have kept energy costs much more at the forefront of my attention. When we purchased our bread oven, we did chose an electric model that is on the higher end of efficiency; important to us as that decreases our energy costs. However, it feel deeply ironic to me that while there is such a push for individual composting, businesses are almost unaware, and largely not practicing, any commercial composting laws as they are poorly communicated and not currently enforced. As our business falls under the square foot regulation, it is not something that the owners have budgeted for as the programs are slightly expensive, and its not mandatory for business under a certain size. That is an argument I hope to revisit in the near future.
As a mom, it is the area where I know there is a lot of easy(ish) room to improve. However, it's a battle against the nonstop nature of toddler-hood, along with the fact that the lunches I pack need to be kosher/vegetarian/nut free/ sesame free per the daycare we use.... ahhhhh! Individual snacks feel easier sometimes, but it is something I hope to change once the routine becomes a little less crazy.

There is a lot of room, and so I hope to make a dent in my many goals before the semester is over.

Natalie Abrams