Sustainability Update: Building on a Strong Foundation
Sustainability Update
Our team has been working on many different projects throughout the year, taking great steps to fulfill our four sustainability goals. Our four goals to achieve by 2030 are: carbon neutrality, zero waste, eliminating toxic chemicals, and being a leader in our sustainable community. We look forward to our sustainable success in the upcoming decade!
Zero Waste
Last year we introduced two options for reusable produce bags. We offer a cotton bag and a bag made from recycled plastic, both for only 50¢. Over the past year, we have sold over 16,000 of these reusable bags. We also began charging 2¢ for new plastic bags.
These two changes have made a massive impact at our co-op. In 2019, we have ordered 100,000 less plastic produce bags than in 2018! This is all thanks to you, our member-owners.
You may have noticed a new box by the Info Desk for our cork collection program. We have partnered with ReCork, a company that takes used corks and upcycles them into yoga blocks, shoes, and surf traction pads. So far we have recycled over 100 lbs of corks! That’s nearly 9,000 bottles of wine - all for a good cause. You can learn more at the ReCork website.
We also made a switch in our soup lids, from plastic to paper. These small changes throughout our Co-op make all the difference.
Check out this video reviewing the Co-op's bag options:
Behind the Scenes
We take waste very seriously - enough to dig through it all! Our team conducted several waste audits in different departments this year, with guidance from Recology. It’s just as fun as you can imagine - separating out every discarded item into a category, weighing it, and reporting back with photos. We looked through trash from the Deli, Produce, our administrative offices, and yes, even our customer trash and recycling.
We discovered that we throw away a lot of plastic nitrile gloves, and decided to make a change. In our Produce and Specialties department, we began a pilot for a glove take-back recycling program through West Coast Paper. By the end of 2020, we plan to see all of our gloves upcycled store-wide.
But what about the customer trash and recycling? The reality is this: most of our customer recycling is too contaminated with food to be properly recycled. None of the take-out containers like coffee cups, burrito bowls, or purple take-out boxes are recyclable. Yet everyday these containers end up in the recycling, usually with food that contaminates the other items like paper or bottles.
Rogue To Go
There is a solution on the horizon for 2020… we are beginning a pilot program for Rogue To Go, a reusable take-out container program! We are partnering with the City of Ashland and four other restaurants. When you buy-in to the program, you can use a provided bright green OZZI container to fill up directly from the Deli hot bar, cold bar, or have tacos or a sandwich to go! This revolutionary program will be the first of its kind in Oregon. We hope it will have a lasting effect to reduce single-use containers.
Sign up for Rogue To Go at the Info Desk, and learn more at Rogue to Go's website.
.jpg)
Energy Efficiency
2019 was the first year that we participated in a free program called Strategic Energy Management, offered by the Energy Trust of Oregon. We joined other organizations such as the Medford School District, City of Talent, Rogue Community College, and Oregon Shakespeare Festival to work on ways to reduce our natural gas usage. Our SEM Intern helped our team develop an Energy Policy, an Annual Plan, and achieve all five milestones for the year.
Our biggest challenge was addressing our hot water usage. We successfully installed a new electric hot water heater in our Deli, helping to lower the temperature on our natural gas water heaters by over 30 degrees! Our intern, Nina, will be returning in 2020 to help guide us towards more energy efficiency.
If you would like to learn more about our sustainability initiatives or have suggestions, contact Rianna at [email protected].
More Co-op News
Nourish Your Family and Fight Hunger
The holiday season is upon us. Amidst the shopping frenzies, family gatherings, and parties it can be hard to remember this is also a season of giving. That’s why we want to make it easy for you to give back. So easy that it’s as simple as doing your everyday grocery shopping. You can nourish your own family and help fight hunger in the Rogue Valley.
For the month of November, we are once again teaming up with Smart Chicken® for the Smart Chicken® Smart Giving program.
Here’s how it works.
5 Reasons to Love Co-ops
By Laura Pfister, Media Coordinator
October is National Co-op Month, so what’s the big deal? Being a co-op is special. Yes, we know we are biased, but being a cooperative enterprise means we do business differently. We don’t have a single owner living on their private island drinking margaritas all day without a care in the world. We are owned and governed by you, our 10,000 members. We share the burden in hard times and share the benefits in the good times. We put people, the planet and our principles before profit.
From the General Manager's Desk
By Emile Armarotico
This spring, National Co-op Grocers recognized Ashland Food Co-op as a Co+efficient Sustainability Star for our excellent sustainability efforts.
Our Sustainability Vision aims at being carbon neutral by 2030. We’ve taken a great stride toward this by installing a 39 kilowatt solar electric system on our rooftop with the capacity to generate approximately 7% of our electricity usage. The cost was partially offset by a $27,000 REAP (Rural Energy for America Program) Grant.
Local Starts at the Co-op
When we say local, we mean local. We source our local goods from within 200 miles of the store. By purchasing goods from local producers, we aim to create and maintain a healthy local economy and support family farms. What could be better than helping your community by buying local goods?
With all the local products that we offer, it’s hard to pick a favorite. But that’s exactly what we asked our staff to do. Here are some of their go-to local eats.
Your Fruit. Your Cider.
How often can you browse the shelf at your neighborhood grocery store, see a bottle of hand crafted, local cider and say, “Hey, I help make that!” Well, at the Co-op you can.
Millions of Peaches, Peaches for Me
By Laura Pfister, Media Coordinator
Many of us wait all year for this moment. We spend the winter months dreaming of a certain fuzzy stone fruit, its sweet juices dripping from our face and the buttery golden pie crust those yellow-orange slices will inhabit.
Good news! The wait is over. That local, sweet orb of sunshine has finally arrived. That’s right. Rolling Hills peaches are here!
2017 Board Election Results
We're Sustainability Stars!
Deep in our hearts we've always known we were sustainability stars, but now we have an award to prove it.
We recently received a Co+efficient Sustainability Star award from National Co-op Grocers (NCG) recognizing our positive environmental and community impacts.
Co+efficient, NCG’s sustainability program, measures social, environmental and local economic impacts from participating food co-ops across the country.
Give Where You Live
It’s the most wonderful time of year! Yes, we know that phrase is generally reserved for the holiday season. But for us, this truly is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s OUR season of giving.
Dine In and Bike Your Way to Savings
Did you know that approximately half of our landfill waste stream is composed of Deli trash? A significant part of that is “to-go” containers, which are sometimes used for dining in and don’t end up “going” very far at all.
Sustainability matters in everyday actions and we want you, our customers, to help us reduce unnecessary waste and make the most ecologically sound choices possible.
Participate in YOUR Co-op!
Spring Picks
The sun is (mostly) out and the weather is finally getting warmer. That must mean summer is right around the corner, right? We sure hope so. We’re ready to grill, soak up some sun and enjoy the many fruits and vegetables that are in season. Our Floral Coordinator, Rachel Chastain, shares some of her favorites.
Be the Sustainable Change
By Laura Pfister, Media Coordinator
Sustainability is not a new concept at the Co-op. It has always been part of our DNA. We’ve been using sustainable business practices before it was the “cool”, “responsible” thing to do. In fact, the Co-op was founded 45 years ago largely on the principles of sustainable, local organic food production as an alternative to modern industrial agriculture.
A New Look
By Laura Pfister, Media Coordinator
For 45 years we’ve been loving local and fostering community. Throughout our almost half a century history, our identity and logo has gone through many iterations.
Some of you might remember the logo above from our newsletter in the early 1980s.
As we’ve done multiple times throughout our history, it’s time to refresh our brand and launch a beautiful, new logo to take us into the next decade.
Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili
Turkey and Sweet Potato Chili is one of my favorite Co+op Basics recipes. It is full of flavor, color and shatters the myth that a healthy meal has to cost a fortune and take all day to prepare. This recipe is also a clever way to use sweet potatoes, which are not only tasty but high in fiber and vitamin A.