Tis the season to consume. Of course there are two ways to consume: shop at those awful soulless malls owned by people like Bruce Ratner who doesn't give a rat's ass about community, or shop at local businesses run by your neighbors and friends. I admit it. I have done my share of shopping at big chain stores. But when you get to know the owner and the store is part of your neighborhood, it just feels better shopping there.

Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn, the group that has been at the forefront of defending Central Brooklyn from overdevelopment, is highlighting the community based businesses that support them as a way to say "thank you" for that support. Here is the list: (after the break)

This comes from Park Slope Neighbors:

Lenore Arons has been busy lately. The local activist, who was looking for a way to have a bigger impact on the search for a cure for breast cancer, has mounted an impressive one-woman campaign to raise funds for the Avon Foundation's Breast Cancer Crusade, enlisting the help of several fine local dining establishments along the way. All she needs now is for us to enjoy a nice dinner out sometime in June.

At Lenore's urging, more than a dozen Brooklyn restaurants - the majority of them right here in Park Slope - have agreed to donate a portion of their receipts from one night in June to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. The best part is that each restaurant has signed on for a different date, so we all have the opportunity to sample different restaurants on different nights, each time knowing that a percentage of our bill will be helping the search for a cure.

Here are the details:

THE 1st ANNUAL BROOKLYN "DINING OUT FOR A CURE"

Dine at any of these participating restaurants on the designated date and a percentage of your receipt will be donated to The Avon Foundation's Breast Cancer Crusade - The Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.