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(3BLMedia/theCSRfeed) Boston, MA - December 7, 2009―Two award-winning socially responsible enterprises, Dancing Deer, the women-led natural baking company and Equal Exchange, the worker-owned Fair Trade pioneer have joined forces to solve your gifting andholiday party needs--all while supporting some great causes.  The "Taste of New England Gift Baskets" feature the award-winning Molasses Clove Cookies and other tasty treats from Dancing Deer complemented by some of Equal Exchange's most popular organic, Fair Trade coffee, tea and chocolates. The gift baskets also include two other local, independent enterprises; locally produced honey from Reseska Apiaries ofHolliston and trail mix from Fastachi ofWatertown.

The CEO’s of Dancing Deer and Equal Exchange, Trish Karter and Rob Everts, have been professional friends for years and often noodled the challenge of how to work together and help each other build their businesses which have so many parallel values.  Both companies have won manyawards for their socially responsible business practices and have been lauded for having two of the most democratically organized workplaces. Both are members of Boston's Sustainable Business Network, and Trish and Rob have shared in a CEO roundtable with other local mission-driven entrepreneurs. So when Dancing Deer decided to bring out a gift basket line, the opportunity to collaborate was obvious.

It’s been a tough year in the food business and particularly in the world of gifts as consumers and corporations have ratcheted back on spending. However Dancing Deer and Equal Exchange appeal on two levels―great product and a commitment to environmental sustainability and social justice.  This might be considered good marketing and strategy, which it is, but this double bottom line approach is driven by the convictions of the founders and employees of these organizations.   Equal Exchange supports small-scale organic farmers around the world through its Fair Trade program.  Dancing Deer dedicates one of its product lines (the Sweet Home Project) to funding scholarships for homeless mothers by donating 35% of the retail price on those gifts in addition to its broader double bottom line mission.

Rob Everts said about the collaboration: “Given all the values our companies share in common plus Dancing Deer’s hard-won reputation for both delicious food and serving the community, we’re really pleased to finally work together and have our products alongside theirs.”
 
Trish Karter returned the compliment by adding: “Equal Exchange has done some really important work in the Fair Trade movement, their products are terrific and I love their broader mission and values”. 

About Dancing Deer
Dancing Deer is a company of people who are passionate about food, nature, aesthetics and community. Known for yummy, all-natural cakes, cookies, brownies and baking mixes, the company has won many national awards and accolades for its distinctive products and innovative business practices. All employees are stakeholders in this women-led enterprise. Sold in gourmet, natural food and conventional grocerystores nationwide, the company also ships directly to consumers (www.dancingdeer.com 1-888-699-DEER) and offers creative marketing programs to corporate customers. When people are happy it shows in the food!
 
About Equal Exchange
A pioneer and U.S. market leader in Fair Trade since 1986, Equal Exchange is a full service provider of high quality, organic coffee, tea, chocolate, cocoa, healthy snacks and bananas. Major customers include Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, Hannaford, Ten Thousand Villages, schools and places of worship nationwide. 100% of Equal Exchange products are fairly traded, benefiting more than 40 small farmer co-operatives in 22 countries around the world.  In keeping with its Fair Trade mission and belief in economic democracy Equal Exchange is a worker co-operative, owned and governed by its approximately 110 employees. http://Shop.EqualExchange.com. 

It was a mistake to watch this while hungry. YOM! Insanely ravenous for Christmas food now.

David Grunfeld/The Times-Picayune
Jeff Baron (left) and Bart Bell inside Huevos, the restaurant they opened while rebuilding the Crescent Pie & Sausage Company.

Several restaurants that have been in the works for some time have finally opened their doors. Look for Crescent Pie & Sausage Company, Surrey's La Playa, Coulis which took the place of the Bluebird Cafe.

visit nola411.com for New Orleans and Gulf Coast news clippings.

New Orleanians celebrated the city’s most famous sandwich on the newly renovated Oak Street corridor.

In a press release afterwards, the festival released the winners of the judged competition for the best po-boys in seven categories…

visit nola411.com for New Orleans and Gulf Coast news clippings.

After eating the best meal of your life, it's hard to forget the experience. It's not unusual for individuals to spend a decade in search of the perfect New York-style pizza in California or the best ramen in London. At this level of obsession, you simply can't be satiated by reading menus or scouring the blurry restaurant pictures and user-generated diatribes of regular review sites. Whether you've got a fixation on fresh lobster ragoût or a hankering for hickory smoked ham, Foodspotting lets hungry users peruse through what can only be described as food porn.

Founded by Adaptive Path UI designer Alexa Andrzejewski and Get Satisfaction engineer Ted Grubb, Foodspotting lets users upload photos of their favorite dishes along with a restaurant address. In Posterous-style fashion, you can also email your finds to food@foodspotting.com. From here you can rate dishes and users, add additional details, earn reputation points and follow places, dishes and community members. The difference between Foodspotting and Yelp is that every review is a positive one. Instead of showcasing restaurant rants, Foodspotting offers a visual menu of customer favorites.

ReadWriteWeb got an early look at the duo's upcoming iPhone application. Set for release in early 2010, foodies will be awarded points for their uploads as well as the particular foods they've tried. In Foursquare, users become the "Mayor" of a particular establishment, but in Foodspotting users become the "Champion" of their favorite dishes. And because so many towns are famous for a particular dish, you're likely to see stiff competition for the "Champion" of Maine lobster or Chicago hot dogs. Users will also compete to collect dishes through scavenger hunts and a food passport system. In the future, as we begin to record more dishes, the system will amass our flavor profiles. These profiles will later form the basis for a dish-related recommendation system.

While the mobile application will not hit the market for at least a month, Foodspotting is well on its way to offering salivating diners a chance to discover nearby favorites on a per-dish basis. To register for the site's early alpha visit foodspotting.com/ilovefood.