Eco - Eco Profiles

POSTED: Sunday, Sep. 21, 2008

Profile: School board member and mom serves up healthy food education

Name: Lee Anne Riddle.
Age: 51.
Residence: Ferndale.

Occupation: Washington State University Food $ense coordinator/nutrition educator.

Mode of transport: 2002 Dodge Caravan and 2005 Toyota PriusAverage

Monthly fuel bill: "$210 for the Caravan, probably a bit less than half that for the Prius."

Eco-cheat: Drinking lattes.

Turning point: "In the '70s when there was a similar increased emphasis on recycling and reusing."

First step: Recycling before curbside pickup began.

Favorite green Web site: www.wcls.org. "Whatcom County Library System is a great free way to … recycle/reuse books."

Pet peeve: Seeing easy-to-recycle items in the trash.

Personal eco victory:"Purchasing and giving away the surplus books from my school district."

Best tip: "Think about items before you buy them: Do I really need it? What will I do with the packaging?"

Born and raised in Whatcom County, Lee Anne Riddle loves her home town. "We have great scenery, great people and great weather," she says. "Yes, I even love the rain."

A mother of three, Riddle's "heart and passion is with public education."

As Washington State University's Food $ense coordinator and nutrition educator (see www.nutrition.wsu.edu for more information), she provides hands-on training on food preparation to schools with limited resources.

Riddle is also an elected Ferndale School District board member involved in programs such as districtwide energy savings, biodiesel buses and using reusable food trays and recycled paper products in lunchrooms.

Besides growing her own vegetables, she buys locally grown produce at the Ferndale Farmers' Market (www.ferndalefarmersmarket.org). She and her husband, Reg, incorporate many eco-conscious steps into their lifestyle, including switching to compact florescent light bulbs and paying bills online.

"I am retraining myself to take shopping bags to the store with me. I did this in the '70s and still have my heavy canvas (Community) Food Co-op bags from then," laughs Riddle.