This is our chance to change the world.

Hello sweet breezy weather that makes you want to get cozy with a fresh brewed cup of hot tea and a big bowl of homemade chili!!!! As we prepare for VegFest this weekend and with an eye on the upcoming Eat Local Week and Winter Park Harvest Festival, we cannot help but notice the sweet sound of transformation all around us. Dandelion is a place for everyone in our community to find common ground and our patrons make up a deliciously diverse cross section of ages, ethnicities, preferences, faiths, professions and income levels. We are a place where the 100% enjoy good food, including at least one of the 1%, the late Steve Jobs, may he rest in peace.

Chris and I opened the cafe because we became aware of injustices occurring across the globe that adversely affect the quality of life for everything and everyone on this planet of ours. We experienced moments of deep sadness and anger and even helplessness. We wanted to make a positive difference  but weren’t sure how. After many attempts and deep thought we realized our particular talents might best be put to use with our training in business and penchant for dinner parties.  Looking back at our beginnings, we understood so little compared with what we have learned from all of you in the past five years, but we knew in our heart of hearts that we had to be the change we wanted to see in the world. One of the most heartening and hopeful things we are witnessing is regular folks standing up for their rights, finding their voice, telling their stories and finding ways to create the more beautiful world our hearts tell us is possible.

We may disagree on who or what broke the system, but we all agree that is is broken. Here are my picks for some of the most inspiring, informative, interesting and intelligent concepts to help restore vitality, personal freedom and equality.

Further Resources

• Yes! Magazine —- the BEST publication in the world!!!!
• Center for a New American Dream
• Living Economies Forum with David Korten
• Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein
• The Soul of Money by Lynn Twist
• Business Alliance for Local Living Economies — of particular interest to small business owners
• Slow Money with Woody Tasch
• Economic Podcasts from Front Porch Radio hosted locally by Julie Norris

Do you have a resources you want the world to know about? Please leave a comment below!

The tumblers have arrived! We SO want you to have one of these cups, which is why your first cup of ice tea is FREE, plus we will knock 25 cents off your bill every time you come in and fill the cup up!

Let’s Sweeten The Deal: every cup comes with 32 coupons from 60+ great indie places in town including $25 Off at Eola Eyes, 50% of a year subscription to edibleOrlando magazine, free pool at Sportstown Billiards and much more!

You absolutely cannot resist: We’ve gathered together an astounding amount of fabulous prizes that you could win with the three wishes you receive including:

• a Vintage Sears Free Spirit 3 Speed Bike from our new neighbors at Downtown ReCycles
• 2 Global Peace Film Festival Passes to the Global Peace Film Festival
• One Year of FREE Monthly Reiki Sessions from I Deserve Healing, a Basket of Poca’s Hot Sauce by Poca’s Hottest
• FREE Teeny Tiny Play Party at Amaya Papaya
• One Hour Massage from Motherlove Massage and a
• Girls Night Out Sexy & Sassy Party Package from Blissful Lotus School of Loving Arts, to name just a few!

Um… can you say best dandy deal ever!!!!

Of course, you also lessen your impact on the environment, promote your favorite gathering place, and discover a new favorite enterprise while enjoying an ice cold organic tea this summer!

Business Directory of All 60+ Participating With Coupons for Every Cup
(All coupon sheets have 32 coupons on them, but not all sheets have the exact same coupons. Some businesses offered only 100 or 500 coupons and we are selling 1000 cups).

Check Out All these AWESOME Raffle Prizes!!!

>>>>>>> Enter the Raffle Here After Purchase <<<<<<<

We only ordered a limited quantity so get your sassy self down to the cafe and grab one up before they are all gone!

**If you preordered one online, bring your receipt in and pick yours up!**

you the best!

We are grateful to be amongst the best in this year’s truly spectacular Best of Orlando by the Orlando Weekly . (Is it me or was this year’s best of the best yet? Great job everyone at the weekly who pulls this thing together!) Thanks to all of you who voted for us – we were winners in the Best Vegetarian and Best Teahouse category. We’ve been recognized every year we’ve been in business, which is saying a lot as many great place to to eat and sip have multiplied in the past five years.

Tia & Terry of the Simple Living Institute

After a year of living with no indoor shower, dishwasher or central air-conditioning, an east Orange County couple calls it an off-the-grid paradise.Terry and Tia Meer built their electric-sipping, super-efficient log cabin down a gravel path alongside the Econlockhatchee River as a way to live what they preach — making as little environmental impact as possible.”You don’t have to live uncomfortably, totally cut off from the world or in a tent to use less energy,” said Tia Meer, 30, recently as she tended one of the couple’s vegetable gardens on their 5-acre plot near Christmas.

Read More No indoor shower. No air-conditioning: Couple lives off-the-grid paradise — OrlandoSentinel.com.

Orlando Weekly Cover Story

By Michelle Gienow

For the past three years, following the typical Michael Pollan–fueled, now-I’ve-seen-the-locavore-light conversion experience, I’ve been trying hard to feed my family good food. It’s more difficult than it sounds; the supermarkets are full of tempting, affordable, food-like products that ultimately owe more to industry than agriculture, once you start reading the labels. It took me an embarrassingly long while to figure out that buying foods so basic that they don’t have a label is the key.

I found myself shopping less and less at the grocery store and instead buying directly from the farmers who actually produce the food, sometimes at the farmers market, sometimes at the farms themselves. Thus it is always local and usually also organic – in practice, if not formal certification – and, helpfully, affordable. I tracked down these farmers and know about the food I’m buying because I’m interested and I ask. In doing this I am, as Pollan urges, voting for systemic change with my food dollars, though in my case that’s sort of a side bonus. This kind of conscious buying has come to be known as SOLE food, for Sustainable, Organic, Local and Ethical.

(Sounds a lot like our Flexitarian philosophy. — Julie)

Read the Full Article at the Orlando Weekly

American Clay Earth Plaster

We are excited to announce that American Clay has selected Dandelion to be a model home for their environmentally friendly natural earth plaster. This month you might catch installer Jeff Barrett applying this cover to the interior of Dandelion during our slow periods.

Volunteers Needed! Help us (eco) prime the walls on Sunday, October 11th in preparation for our new eco-friendly interior. RSVP here or contact us & let us know you are interested in lending a hand.

We are super excited about the transformation as the interior walls are overdue for some TLC, but they are about to get a sophisticated yet au natural makeover. Check out the color palette – we’ve picked out a buttery yellow for the lobby, earthy orange for the main dining room, jasper green for the piano room and sky blue for the back dining room.

This is the first installment in our Community Supported Enterprise (CSE) growth plan, which includes adding a covered patio to the front of the cafe.

www.playground-magazine.com

Ya’ll know we love all things local around here, and Playground magazine is as local as you can get – this regional magazine is a unique gem in our town, chock full of advice on what to do with the little ones, written with sass and full of articles about relevant topics. This edition is green-themed and features articles on Flexitarianism (pg 58), the “Green Block” covering Dandelion & friends (pg 60) and the cover article features three natural mama’s including co-proprietor Julie Norris (Girls Gone Green, pg 33). Pick one up at Dandelion or read it online.

When Sarah Slack feels like having a salad, she doesn’t head for the refrigerator. Instead she goes out to the garden behind her home near the Orlando International Airport and picks salad greens and peppers to quench her craving.”It’s a great feeling to know where my food comes from and to have everything so fresh,” she said.More East Orlando residents are jumping on the local food movement that has been brewing in the area for nearly a year.

Last month Ourlando’s Local Food Alliance — a Progressive Local Alliance for Community Enrichment program — had its first public meeting where more than 50 local restaurant owners, farmers, grocers, policy makers and community members brainstormed ways to get more locally grown food on Orlando’s menu.The benefits of local food include a more healthful, fresh product, a stronger connection between the consumer and their plate, reduced carbon emissions by cutting transportation, and lower food costs.

Read entire article here: From farm to fork | The Voice | Serving Greater Oviedo and Winter Springs for more than 16 years..

It’s a socially conscious gathering spot, one that adds some soul to the Orlando neighborhood near Mills Avenue and east Colonial Drive. Patrons can get an informal education on organic food or natural remedies, and attend potluck dinners, holiday farmers market and celebrations of the new and full moon.

So Norris, who’s having trouble scraping together money to pay the rent and her vendors, has tried a new tactic for generating cash. Touting her cafe’s contributions to the community, she’s now turning to the community for help. She’s asking her customers for donations – in increments of $11.11.

via Dandelion Communitea Cafe asks for donations to help it stay open – OrlandoSentinel.com.

“There is a universal wisdom to healthy eating. Pile on the fruits, vegetables and whole grains and skip the meat and saturated fat. Consume everything in moderation, especially alcohol.

But certain cultures around the world offer further insight with traditional diets that are not just healthy, they also protect our bodies against scourges like cancer, depression, diabetes and heart disease. Researchers believe that following such diets can lead to excellent health; making the transition, however, requires more than just adopting an Americanized version of another culture’s traditional diet.”

via The World’s Diet Secrets – Forbes.com.