Good morning! How do you feel about this rain we are having in central Illinois? It is Thursday and you know what that means...time for our plastic-free check-in! We have a few extra resources and tips to share with you today. You are almost done with Week 3 of the Plastic Free Challenge. There is just over one week left until the end of the challenge. We are sad to realize this, too. We love communicating with you and building our community of sustainability enthusiasts. How have you improved since Week 1? What more do you have to learn?

We are extremely proud of you all for submitting your grids, emailing about what you are learning, sending details about helpful resources you have utilized, and setting some great goals throughout the challenge thus far. The goal of this challenge, other than reducing plastic waste of course, is to become more conscious of our waste overall and to find tips and tools to aid the journey toward a plastic-free lifestyle (and help others do the same). We are excited to see what more we can accomplish as a group in the next week!

This week, let's focus on avoiding plastics in the kitchen, including purchasing groceries, cooking, storing food, cleaning, and more. Have you realized how heavily food products are packaged? This is an important component to target as you reflect on your daily waste habits and plan ahead. The attached tip guide includes ways to avoid plastic shopping bags, heavily packaged food products, plastic cleaning supplies, and more. We provided tips on how to store food without plastic, how to cook and serve food sustainably - all ideas that we hope you discuss with friends, roommates, and family members, too. Also, don’t forget to purchase in bulk: the Harvest Market in Champaign and Urbana Co-Op are two options close to campus. No matter where you are located, plan ahead and call your local grocery stores or co-ops to ask about their bulk purchasing options.

Please remember to submit your Week 3 Google Form by Monday, March 22. Feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns at any time. We truly enjoy hearing from you all. As a reminder, at any time throughout the challenge (especially if you have recently joined!), you can revisit any of our emails or resources that have been distributed to the group in this Box folder. This folder can also be found by scrolling down to "More Information" on the iSEE Plastic Free Challenge webpage. 

Enjoy the rest of your week and we will talk to you again on Sunday. Go Illini basketball!!

Meredith Moore, iSEE Sustainable Programs Coordinator
Emily Dickett, iSEE Sustainability Intern