World's Largest Organic Cake Featured at Garden State GreenFest

The world’s largest organic cake was on display – for a while, at least – at the Garden State Green Fest, a festival which continues today at Kean University to celebrate and promote all things environmentally conscious.  But as nice as a cake may be to look at, it has to be eaten eventually, and 500 visitors to the Green Fest got to eat a small piece of organic history.

The cake – vanilla with chocolate fudge – was delivered by Mauro Castano by TLC’s hit series Cake Boss and made by Carlo’s Bakery of Hoboken.  Included on the cake were edible figurines of penguins, dolphins, polar bears, and other animals as well as edible structures such as wind farm turbines and solar panels.  Those figurines were included as part of a silent auction to benefit the Kean University Foundation/Scholarship in Sustainability Studies.

While the cake, and its TV star deliveryman, was the hot topic of the afternoon Saturday, there were a variety of vendors, entertainers, movies, and activities for the environmentally conscious family.   Entertainers included Jeff Yeager, “The Cheapskate Next Door,” who gave tips on how families can save money by going green, contrary to the popular belief that being green tends to be more expensive. 

Yeager suggested that families shop in bulk, for example.  Yeager acknowledged that though the suggestion is not a popular one among many green enthusiasts, it works for certain families.  “For some families, the greenest choice may be the big-box store, like Costco or Sam’s Club,” said Yeager, explaining that by buying in larger quantities, families make fewer trips to the supermarket, using less fuel.

The idea of consuming less was a prevailing theme Saturday at the festival.  “We need to change our behavior in schools,” said William York, director of smallFEAT, an organization that works to help schools reduce their carbon footprint.  “You’ll see lights on, computers left on…we need to get in the habit of being more efficient in schools.”

“It’s important to get students involved, because they are the key,” said York.

Other vendors and groups at the festival included the Trailside Nature Preserve, Lakota Wolf Preserve, eco-friendly chocolate and clothing companies, and even a funeral home showcasing wicker caskets, green funerals, and other ways to be environmental conscious, even in the afterlife. 

The festival continues Sunday with TV's Bill Nye the Science Guy making an appearance at 1 PM.