Melinda Reed of Perfect Petals donates her services for several charity events. Here she shares one of her ideas about how you can make any event sustainable.

The grace and beauty of freshly arranged flowers set on beautiful tables can feed all our senses, but can they also feed the hungry? The answer is yes; if you are thoughtful, socially conscious, and careful when you use green apples, lemons, and oranges. Wedding or charitable event arrangements can have two lives!

In 2003, Liz Vogel, of Facing History and Ourselves, and I collaborated on table centerpieces for the group's first annual Bay Area dinner event, held at the Crowne Plaza Cabana in Palo Alto. Facing History and Ourselves is an international organization providing educators with tools to help students in grades 7-12 make connections between history, ethics, and citizenship as they consider moral questions. The annual dinner highlights their many programs and showcases student art, speakers, and student essays in a powerful presentation.

In the first year we created centerpieces using Granny Smith apples for their fresh, cheerful color. I was able to incorporate the apples into floral arrangements without either piercing or gluing them, so they remained pristine and edible, perfect for donating them to a local charity after the event. The food closet and kitchen at Urban Ministry of Palo Alto gratefully accepted 13 cases of fruit for their families in need. Since that successful first dinner, Liz; Jen Kim, Liz's successor; and I have teamed up to design creative and colorful centerpieces, and we make the donation to the food closet a priority, with flowers a minimal accent. The table's centerpieces dual function also demonstrates a distinctive decision.

Since then, Facing History's dinner attendees have enjoyed different colorful and creative table arrangements, and the staff from the organization knows they are spending their floral decoration funds responsibly. This year we added fresh oranges and lemons to the apples, enhancing the arrangements to our client's delight, and pleasing the kitchen staff at Urban Ministry.

Brooke Scharnke, executive director of Urban Ministry Palo Alto, reported that the staff rejoiced over the amount of the good-looking, fresh fruit that was donated and the opportunity to provide it directly to their clients.

Fresh fruit that is hardy and can be stored with minimal refrigeration is very welcome and of course more desired than the sometimes blemished  garden produce that they also gracefully accept. The use of a food product in a clean and deliberate method is an example of careful planning that florists or decorators can emulate when planning any event, from a dinner for a charitable organization to a wedding. A product that fills more than one need, uses less energy and water, and contributes to sustainable resources satisfies twice as much. Choosing to use multiple functions for beautiful decor not only makes us enjoy the event but makes those choices responsible as well.