Judy Wicks says her interest in local food, small business and sustainability goes back to her childhood.
Wicks will speak this week at events connected to Western Michigan University’s celebration of National Campus Sustainability Day. Her visit is sponsored by Western's Office of Sustainability. Wicks says local food is an issue of health, the economy and also taste. She says it’s important to build communities that are self-reliant for their basic needs.
“Doing well by doing good” is something that Wicks hopes businesses strive for. She says her own Philadelphia-based restaurant The White Dog Café provided locally-based food, was powered in large part by renewable energy and paid its workers a living wage. Wicks says it was a very profitable business, and she says others can make money the same way.
Wicks keynote address is called “Building a New Economy, What’s Love Got to Do With it.” She says that consumers and businesses should consider more than maximizing profit and finding the lowest price.
