Sue Kerr – Profile of a Woman Greening Pittsburgh

By:  Stephanie Benney

Let me take you back to June for a minute.  The article I wrote was titled, “Mirror, Mirror” and proposed that over the next several months, I would cover the stories of as many of the women nominated for the “Women Greening Pittsburgh 2011″ award.  Today, I would venture to the North Side of Pittsburgh’s Crazy Mocha to meet with my first interviewee, Sue Kerr.

From the moment she approached me, I felt a warmth and genuinely kind, humanitarian energy.  With a smile that could light up the world, it did not take me long to realize why so many people are almost magnetically drawn to get involved with her project.

Even from the days of sitting at the counter at Dunkin Donuts on Sunday mornings after church, Sue had an intimate relationship with hardship.  The daughter of a steel mill worker and the target of malicious bullying in school due to wearing braces and glasses, she knew all too well the feelings of insecurity, prejudice, and the effects from lack of monetary wealth.  However, she found she experienced a “rebirth” when she left Pittsburgh and all of the negative stigma attached to her schooling when she attended college in Arlington at Marymount College.  She felt she was able to start anew by meeting different people and embracing new experiences.  It was here that she truly blossomed.  Many people would carryi their damage from childhood as the preverbal wooden cross for the rest of their lives, but Sue found inspiration in hers, and would nurture her seeds to sprout fruitfully in the social work arena.

In July of 2009, Sue had taken some clients to the Food Bank to participate in a food distribution.  She observed a man struggling to manage all of his plastic bags full of food.  One of his bags ruptured and he lost his cabbage.  While trying to maneuver his plastic bags to regain control of the cabbage, Sue had a moment of clarity and intention.  A constant surveyor of her environment, something clicked for her and  an idea was born.

The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project was an official program on April 22, 2011, with 18 months of prior testing and setup work.  The focus of this project is to collect gently used or new totes to distribute to the Food Bank, which in turn supply the food pantries.   In 4 short months, they have collected 2,000 bags, which translates into saving at least 6,000 disposable bags from entering the stream of waste. There are 3 main reasons for the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project.  One,  it is easier and sturdier to carry groceries in totes than disposable bags; two, using totes reduces the amount of disposable bags used; three, food pantries have to purchase the disposable bags, so by receiving donated totes, they are able to cut costs.  The Food Bank serves approximately 120,000 people a month and has 380 programs they provide to.  Out of that number, 300 are food pantries.

There are 3 means of making all of this possible.  The first is that there are drop-offs for the totes.  For example,  Construction Junction is a designated drop-off site for totes.  Second,  there are scheduled tote bag drives, with the goal being 2-3 a month throughout the year.  Third, they work with various corporations to donate extra totes from past marketing efforts, such as trade shows.  Not only does the corporation benefit by helping the community, they are also gaining added marketing exposure.  David L. Lawrence Convention Center plays an enormous role in this aspect by donating left-over bags from various trade shows and expos.

As one of my final question for Sue Kerr, I asked her to explain what sustainability means to her.  She feels that it is about making systemic and institutional changes, so that we can preserve our natural resources and use them in a manner that is efficient and responsible.  “You have to think globally in terms of energy usage and where we send our waste.”  She wants donating and using a tote bag to register in people’s minds as saving the environment.

In the moments that would conclude our session together, Sue shared with me a wish she has for girls and women in Pittsburgh.  She wants more women to connect to create a better Pittsburgh for girls.  In our region, 1 in 7 people do not receive enough daily nutrition.  Out of that number, 1 in 4 is a child.  She wants to see less girls and women depending on food pantries and believes it can happen by showing these women and girls their options – she wants better for them.  “It’s about moving people along on a higher level.  It’s about women helping women.”

For more information on the Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project, please visit their website at:  www.tote4pgh.org  or email by tote4pgh@gmail.com

Stephanie Benney is a “Sustainable Visionary” and also the new Pittsburgh Representative for Fuzed Marketing, where she helps companies increase their brand presence. stephaniebenney@yahoo.com