CLOV and the Great Rib Throwdown

By Jessica Buchanan

CLOV Customer Service

If there are two things we here at CLOV are good at besides making labels and fabulous customer service, it’s friendly competition and food. So next week, to kick off the holiday weekend, we’ll be hosting a throwdown a la Bobby Flay. If you haven’t seen the show on Food Network what happens is this: a chef claims they make the best mac & cheese/pizza/cherry pie etc and celebrity chef Bobby Flay shows up and challenges them to a throwdown. Both chefs make the same dish and the audience does a blind taste test to decide who the real winner is.

Recently our Customer Service Manager Kathy was chatting with our Press Manager Bryan and they began to each boast that they make the best ribs. Hence, a contest was born! Kathy and Bryan have a history with food competitions. Last year they had a chili cook off – and Bryan won (the winning vote was cast by none other than Kathy’s son in law!) So they’ve decided to have a rematch and this place is just buzzing with both excitement and smack talk. We’re planning a nice celebration of the upcoming long weekend by sampling ribs from each of them and combining them with dishes that the rest of us will bring to complement the meal (my contribution: Coleslaw -  homemade of course!) While Kathy jokes about being here at 2am sleeping outside with her smoker, Bryan contends it doesn’t take that much time to make some mouthwatering ribs. Well, next Friday, May 25, we shall see who the champion is. If you’re in the area around noon stop on by and cast a vote, we’d love to have you!

Just give us a call @ 802-655-7654, write on our facebook wall  or tweet us @LabelmakerVT to let us know you are coming so we make sure we have plenty of food! Please RSVP by Wednesday, May 23rd 2012.

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CLOV is Humbled!

By Jessica Buchanan

CLOV Customer Service

First off, we would like to take an opportunity to thank each and everyone one of you who “liked” CLOV during the month of April. With your help (and Dwane’s promised out of pocket match!) Gail, Zara and I were able to deliver a check to Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf for $500! That is amazing!! We just wanted to share what a humbling experience it was for us to visit CEFS on Wednesday and meet not only employees but recipients. We were given a wonderful tour by Rob and Liz, who are two of the kindest people you could ever wish to meet. We were so truly taken aback by how they do so much for the community with so few resources that we wanted to share some of the information they gave us in hopes that if you’re looking for a way to give back to the community, you will choose them.

When you think of a food shelf, many thoughts probably come to mind. I assure you, many of the stereotypical ideas that people hold about visitors to the food shelf are simply unfounded, untrue and at the very least detrimental to organizations trying to help this growing part of the population. There are a variety of reasons a person might need assistance from a food shelf and I would imagine it takes a lot to swallow your pride and ask for help of that magnitude. From a young mother with no place to turn to an elderly resident who is unable to leave their house, hunger knows no bounds. It affects across races, ages, sexes, religions – there is no one immune to the dangers of hunger.

During the tour, we learned that CEFS is so much more than “just a food shelf.” They also have a soup kitchen where meals are served 7 days a week. They help their visitors train for and find jobs in order to better their situation. They hire employees with multi-cultural backgrounds in order to be able to communicate with visitors who are from all over the globe and speak more than 70 languages. They work out of a building that is very small and they feel the repercussions of this; especially during busy holiday times. They need a separate building to house offices and yet another to serve as a warehouse. Coordinating across three spaces is difficult to say the least. Regardless, CEFS helps thousands and thousands of people every year. After our tour, we felt like we wanted to do so much more, but weren’t sure how. So not only are we working on a relationship with them, we are asking for your continued support.

When I asked Rob after our tour what the best way to help was, he was a bit hesitant to respond. While they fight tooth and nail for government help to avoid using donor money for non-food items (their kitchen equipment and refrigerator units for example), they are still financially strapped when it comes to getting the food they need to stock the shelves. Between rising food prices and the gas prices that directly affect those costs, it’s becoming increasingly harder to keep up with demand. While they would never turn away a donation of your time or boxes full of food, what they really need now is cash. If we took the $500 we donated and purchased food with it, it would have only bought a fraction of what CEFS can purchase with the same money through their food banks. So please, if you feel inclined, get in touch with them and see how you can help. Seriously, anything helps. But help is what CEFS needs and we want to facilitate that in any way possible. Again, thank you to all who helped us make this Facebook campaign so successful. Liking our page is easy. Hunger is hard.

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Green Up Day in Vermont

This Saturday, May 5th, is Green Up Day around Vermont. Vermont was the first state to allocate a day where the whole state joins together to clean up highways and roadways. The original idea was pitched to Governor Deane C. Davis by Robert Babcock in 1970. Babcock was disgusted at the amount of litter along state roadways that was visible after the winter snow melted away. He thought it would be a great idea for Vermonters to join forces in order to beautify the state. And Green Up Day was born!
This year, Governor Shumlin asked Green Up Vermont to partner with Irene Recovery efforts. As you may or may not know, Vermont actually endured a hurricane in August of 2011. Not only was it shocking to have those high winds and heavy rain in our tiny, landlocked state but it was devastating to many areas. Roads, bridges and houses simply washed away by the rushing flood waters. It was terribly sad but as usual, Vermonters banded together in relief and recovery efforts. Because of the amazing amount of pride that Vermonters possess, the slogan “We Are Vermont Proud” was adopted. I personally think those words are very, very true. And we are so proud that a license plate was created to sell in order to raise funds for recovery efforts. (you can buy one here for only $25!).
So this year Vermonters will gather in an effort to make our state more beautiful than it already is. No more litter on the sides of the roadways or fields full of household debris. We must continue working hard to keep our state green. So visit Green Up Day’s official website to learn more information on where and how you can help in your own community. Vermont gives us so much splendor every day, is it really too much to ask that we take just a few hours and help her stay that way?

~How will you help keep Vermont beautiful for Green Up Day?