Zero-waste grocery store eliminates food packaging

Today’s grocery stores may feature more items with recyclable packaging than they used to, but the fact remains that there’s still enormous waste involved in the way individual goods are typically packaged and sold. So argues Brothers Lane, an Austin, Texas, company that’s gearing up to launch in.gredients— the first package-free, zero-waste grocery store in the United States.

The new store aims to be “a different kind of grocery store – one that is responsible to the environment and community and one that facilitates a healthy lifestyle,” in the company’s own words. Toward that end, shoppers at the store will bring their own reusable containers to fill with local and organic groceries ranging from dry bulk and dairy to wine and household cleaners. “Truth be told, what’s normal in the grocery business isn’t healthy for consumers or the environment,” in.gredients co-founder Christian Lane explains. “In addition to the unhealthiness associated with common food processing, nearly all the food we buy in the grocery store is packaged, leaving us no choice but to continue buying packaged food that’s not always reusable or recyclable.” Due to launch before year’s end, the store will exclude packaged and overly processed foods altogether as well as offering cooking classes, on-site gardening activities and a variety of community events. A video on YouTube explains the premise further: [Read more...]

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Pay-what-you-can dish fights hunger at vegan café chain

During tough economic times, pay-what-you-want pricing can be a nice way to show a little compassion while also helping to ensure a company’s own survival. Agency Nil and London restaurant Little Bay are two examples we’ve seen of that strategy, but California restaurant chain Café Gratitude’s approach is a little different. Rather than a recession-busting initiative, its pay-what-you-can “I am Grateful” dish is a manifestation of a socially focused business model it calls “Sacred Commerce.”

“Each day, we practice shifting our attention to love, acceptance, gratitude, generosity, abundance, and the privilege of serving others,” the company’s website explains. In that spirit, the San Francisco-based company serves a menu of 100 percent organic and vegan food at its numerous California locations, locally produced and free of refined sugar, flour and additives. Both raw and cooked specialties are part of that menu, as is Café Gratitude’s “I am Grateful” community-supported grain bowl. Featuring shredded kale with quinoa, black beans and tahini-garlic sauce, the bowl was designed “to allow for those in financial need to have access to organic vegan food.” Accordingly, though the meal has a suggested value of USD 7, payment is by donation, and “no one is turned away,” the company says.

One-off initiatives to battle social ills are all very well and good, but making kindness and charity an ongoing part of your daily operations takes corporate generosity to a new level. How is your brand committed to giving back? (Related: Donations to hungry children based on the value of donors’ favorite mealsBuy an exotic beer, donate to its country of originKraft uses social media to tackle hunger.)

Website: www.cafegratitude.com
Contact: info@cafegratitude.com

Many thanks to SpringWise for the article.

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