Berkeley City Council to Hear Fair Trade City Resolution

Dear Fair Trade Friends,

We have exciting news! We just received word that the Berkeley City Council will be hearing our resolution to declare Berkeley a Fair Trade City tonight, Tuesday, April 27th at 8pm.

The resolution is included as a part of the “Actions Calendar” for tomorrow’s city council meeting, which means that representatives of the Fair Trade Berkeley campaign will be given up to two minutes each to present arguments in favor of the resolution and provide material to address any questions asked by the council.

If successful, the item under consideration could result in a vote in support of the resolution, but we will need your help to demonstrate the broad community support for the Fair Trade in Berkeley to ensure that the City Council gets the message.

This is a crucial point in the Berkeley campaign as we move one step closer to declaring Berkeley a Fair Trade Town! Join us in showing your support for Fair Trade by attending the meeting in full Fair Trade attire – wear t-shirts with a Fair Trade message on them and bring colorful banners and signs. Then help us turn out the vote by inviting your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

In light of this exciting development, TransFair USA will be opening its community café to the general public between 5-7 pm café for a ‘prep’ rally filled with pizza and sign painting before we head down to the council meeting together. The TransFair USA offices are located at 1500 Broadway @ 15th St. in downtown Oakland. If you can join the ranks – great! But if not, then we hope to see you at the Unified School District Building.

Fair Trade Berkeley needs your voice, your signs, and your presence! Come one, come all!

What: Berkeley City Council Meeting
When: Tuesday, April 27 at 6:30pm, with Action Calendar discussion to begin around 8pm
Where: Unified School District Building, 2134 MLK Jr. Way, second floor, downtown Berkeley
Accessible by Downtown Berkeley BART Station

Event RSVP via Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=108858662488736&ref=mf

If you or another member of your organization are interested or available to speak on behalf of the resolution, please contact Jamie Guzzi, Grassroots Outreach Coordinator, TransFair USA, 510-663-5260 x. 309, jguzzi@transfaiusa.org.

For more information about the campaign to declare Berkeley a Fair Trade City please visit:
http://fairtradeberkeley.blogspot.com

Best,
Lauren, Dagny, Katrina, Katie, David, Billy, Jamie, Alicia
and the rest of the Fair Trade Berkeley Team.

Berkeley Fair Trade Fair

Last week hundreds of UC Berkeley Students and members of the Berkeley community showed their love for Fair Trade at the Berkeley Fair Trade Fair. The Fair consisted of several booths with chocolate sampling, free T-shirts and general information about Fair Trade Certified. Among the Fair Trade representatives were TransFair USA, Alter Eco, Theo Chocolate, Divine Chocolate and the UC Berkeley Fair Trade Club. While students and passerbys spent time tasting a variety of Fair Trade Certified chocolates and signing petitions to help Berkeley become a Fair Trade Town, others were busy signing one of the largest Valentine's Day cards anyone has ever seen.

By signing the card, people were able to show their love and support for Fair Trade in a big way. Not only was the giant heart quite a spectacle on campus, but it now sits in Berkeley's City Hall as a testament to the government's commitment to the Fair Trade Town campaign. The Mayor of Berkeley Tom Bates proudly accepted the card (and a little Fair Trade Certified chocolate), and then posed for a photo-op with the Fair Trade Berkeley team!

All in all the day was a great success. The fair was a wonderful way to spread awareness about Fair Trade, to promote Fair Trade certified products, and to gain support for the movement right here in Berkeley.

Happy Holidays from TransFair USA!

Berkeley Fair Trade Towns Monthly Meeting - Minutes

I. Event One – Status Check on 5 FTT Criteria for Berkeley:

Retail:
• Need 20 retail stores in Berkeley that carry two or more Fair Trade products – Nailed this, but always looking for more!

Steering Committee:
• Formulating a list of local businesses & offices and invite to serve on the Steering Committee. We’ll have a mailing list party at our next meeting!

Community Support:
• The per capita numbers for Berkeley equivilate to 20 organizations that need to use Fair Trade products – Done!
• Residents’ petition: Jan. – April is the time to increase Fair Trade visibility for Berkeley residents. We need to petition at Farmer’s Market, UC Berkeley Campus and around town for community support.

Legislation:
• Set a timeline for passing resolution in Berkeley, ideally in May, 2010!

Press/Media Coverage:
• Fair Trade Berkeley BART Advertisement
• Blog: Check it out and make it known!
o FairTradeBerkeley.blogspot.com
• Email us on our Fair Trade Berkeley gmail!
o FairTradeBerkeley@gmail.com. Questions, requests for information and the like can be directed here!

II. Event Two - Jan. 13th, 10-11am. Meeting with Mayor’s Office

Meeting with Nils Moe (assistant to Mayor T. Bates) and Jennifer Cogley (BuyLocal Berkeley) regarding:
• Wording on the Resolution
• Resolution timeline
• Passports Game – approval and implementation plan
• Fair Trade Fair at CAL (invite them and City Hall’s participation, if desired)
• Fair Trade Berkeley ad in BART
• Fair Trade presence at the Mayor’s New Year’s gathering

III. Event Three - Buy Local; Buy Fair Berkeley Passports Game:

Hoping to implement a game in Berkeley shops as part of “Fair Trade New Year’s Resolution” activity. Passports Game would be active between mid-Jan and mid-March. If you have some capacity – or have found a new member for our steering committee, this would be a great place for them to share their talents!

IV. Event Four – For the Love of Fair Trade, Fundraising night @ the Fox Den, Feb. 4th

V. Event Five - Fair Trade Fair @ UC Berkeley, Thursday, Feb. 11th, 11am -2pm

BIG Thanks to Katrina and her team on campus! Please contact FairTradeBerkeley@gmail to become apart of the UC Berkeley campus team or want more information about anything discussed at our meeting or how you can get more involved with making Berkeley a Fair Trade Town!

Berkeley Fair Trade Towns Monthly Meeting

Tomorrow, December 9th, 2009, is the Berkeley Fair Trade Towns Steering Committee monthly meeting! It will be held at the TransFair USA office at 1500 Broadway in Downtown Oakland! Any and everyone who is interested in Fair Trade, Fair Trade Towns or would simply like to learn more about the Fair Trade movement you're welcome to attend. Your presence is greatly appreciated! The National Fair Trade Towns conference call will follow our meeting and you are welcome to attend that as well. We ecnourage the Berkeley community to attend and give input into making Berkeley a Fair Trade Town!

Adventures Around Berkeley

Where can you buy Fair Trade Certified products in Berkeley? Where can a Berkeley resident go to enjoy a Fair Trade cup of coffee or tea and kick back with a good book, a toasty bagel and keep in touch via some free Wi-Fi access?

Yesterday we took advantage of the beautiful fall Berkeley day and photographed retail locations that sell Fair Traded Certified products between the UC Berkeley Campus, Telegraph, University and Shattuck. Here are the visuals of our findings in conjunction with the ever expanding list of "Where to Buy" locations! Dine-in, take-out or grocery shop for the freshest Fair Trade Certified ingredients and products here:

Addison Annex Cafe

Cafe Gratitude


Village Grounds


The Cheeseboard

Beautiful Fall Day on Shattuck!

People's Cafe

Simply Photographs of Organic Teas & Coffee Beans


Sunny Walk on Telegraph


Our up to date list of "Where to Buy" in Berkeley:

Grocery Shops:
Andronico's Grocery
1550 Shattuck Ave
510-841-7942

Andronico's Grocery
1850 Solano Ave
510-524-1673

Andronico's Grocery
1414 University Ave
510-548-7061

Andronico's Grocery
2655 Telegraph Ave
510-845-1062

Berkeley Bowl
2777 Shattuck Ave
510-843-6929

Berkeley Natural Grocery
1336 Gilman
510-526-2456

Monterey Market
1550 Hopkins Street
510-526-6042

Whole Foods Market
3000 Telegraph Ave
510-649-1333

Global Exchange
2840 College Ave
510-548-0370

Cafe & Restaurants:
Au Coquelet Cafe Restaurant‎
2000 University Ave
510-845-0433

Bread Garden
2912 Domingo Ave
510-548-3122

Cafe Fanny
1603 San Pablo Ave
510-524-5447

The Cheeseboard
1512 Shattuck Ave
510-549-3183

Tomate Cafe
2265 5th Street
510-549-9885

Uncommon Grounds
2813 Seventh St
510-644-4451

People's Cafe
2015 Shattuck Ave
510-666-0666

Addison Annex Cafe
2107 Addison St
510-540-4150

Village Grounds
1797-A Shattuck Ave
510-486-2877

Cafe Gratitude
1730 Shattuck St
415-824-4652

Saul's Restaurant & Deli
1475 Shattuck Ave
510-848-3354

Thank you Berkeley and Berkeley Bowl!

Greetings!

Thank you to everyone who came out for the Divine Chocolate Giveaway and showed your support for Fair Trade! Despite the last minute location mix-up we could not have asked for a more encouraging setting to have held the event. Thank you to all the retail locations that made this possible and for allowing us to share some delicious Fair Trade Chocolate and inspiring information about how to make Berkeley a Fair Trade Town with your customers! It was a fabulous way to kick off the Halloween weekend (with volunteers in costumes) and to welcome the winter season. Please stay tuned to FairTradeBerkeley.Blogspot.com for more exciting events and information taking place around the Berkeley Bay Area!

Thank you again!