Buy Local Week, November 24-December 1. Michelle Grandy, Sustainable Connections Think Local First program manager, says, "We're encouraging folks to support friends and neighbors by keeping their money local, whether that means purchasing more locally grown food for their holiday meals, visiting a local holiday craft festival or unique store right here in Whatcom County, or finding a one-of-a-kind experience to share with loved ones."

For money-saving coupons from your favorite local businesses, pick up the 2013 Where the Locals Go! coupon book, available mid-November.

For more information, see Think Local First.

Bid Local First! Online Auction, November 19-December 2. Scoop up some deals on unique, local goodies in this online auction that supports Sustainable Connections' Buy Local First and Eat Local First campaigns.

To see auction items, see Bid Local First.

Our own Bellingham Farmers Market was listed among Sunset Magazine's top 10 farmers markets. Here's what they had to say:

Bellingham Farmers Market

The scene: What began as a small, grassroots effort has blossomed into one of Washington's biggest, most beloved markets. Crafts are almost as popular here as the raspberries and blueberries, which arrive by the sweet, juicy carton from farms just 60 miles away in Skagit and Whatcom Counties.

The find: The last Saturday of every month is Kids Vending Day, when the 25 tables are manned by the 18-and-under set. Even 5-year-olds set up booths hawking everything from tomatoes grown in their backyards to just-laid eggs to whoopie pies they made by hand. Saturdays through December 17, bellinghamfarmers.org.

Read about the top 10 here.

Lloyd Alter

At the Natural Resources Defense Council Switchboard, Dana Gunders writes "Dear Government: Food Waste is a Matter of Urgency. Please Take It Seriously." It's an important post about a subject that is often ignored--that well over 40 percent of food in North America is wasted. Worldwide, almost a third of all food is lost to poor harvesting, lousy distribution, poor storage, and ridiculous portion sizes. And it isn't just the food wasted; it's also the water, fertilizer, and fuel.

Dana notes that the government is doing close to nothing about the problem, but that it once thought it important enough to run poster campaigns. She illustrates her post with her favorite posters from the US Navy in World War II.

Lloyd Alter has been collecting images of these posters for a couple of years. He has compiled an illustrated version of Dana's five recommendations to help solve the problem of food waste in America. See his post at treehugger.com. For Dana Gunders post, see the NRDC Switchboard blog.