Today is Earth Day. Now, don’t get me wrong, I really love the Earth… but I’m getting really flipping sick of people asking me if I know how big my carbon footprint is. I drive to work. I work on a computer all day. I take daily showers. I get it – I’m not helping. But telling me how big my feet are isn’t going to do much aside from make me feel bad about my feet.
That’s why I am loving the latest “Working Class Foodies” episode, How To Garden For Earth Day: Window Box, Urban Gardening. It’s perfect! I watched all four minutes and twenty-four seconds and I didn’t feel berated once! Rather, I felt encouraged to do something that was both environmentally friendly and easy on my wallet! And that’s what this show is all about: how to be healthy and sustainable on a super low budget. Okay, I’m going there: this show puts the ‘class’ back in “lower-middle class.” Done.
The format of this show is pretty simple. Each episode is a new recipe, or food-related concept, from homemade Halloween candy and Hanukkah Latkes to Super Bowl Snacks for vegans. Not every episode is holiday themed, but I appreciate the seasonal quality of the show, especially because buying seasonal ingredients is such a nutritional trend (not to mention it makes buying local easy, which is great for the local economy).
And then, of course, there’s the affordability. This is the biggest draw to Working Class Foodies. Just as I’m less likely to become an overnight environmentalist after receiving a ruler-smack to my knuckles, I’m definitely not going to change my habits when I see a giant dollar-bill-magnet reaching for my bank account. (No, thank you!) 
WCF attaches a dollar sign to every one of their episodes, estimating how much it would cost you to replicate their process, and that dollar sign generally hovers around the $8-$10 range. (Hallelujah, on that kind of budget I’ll be able to afford to pay my rent AND eat proper meals this month!)
In short, this show is about being healthy and resourceful. It aims to encourage its audience, not look down on us. I mean, after watching this last episode, I learned that an herb will rot if its planter doesn’t have holes punched in the bottom. (Who knew?!) So now that I know why my basil plant is dying, I’m going to rush home and bring that bad boy back to life. And that’s what Earth Day is all about, isn’t it?
Take charge: check out the latest Working Class Foodies episode embedded below:
(interested in Rebecca’s reference to PBS’s P.O.V. screening of Food, Inc.? Watch it here!)
