Food service can be an accessible entry point for greening your operations that will have a direct impact on your customers, suppliers and community. Start seasoning your food purchasing decisions with sustainable options and watch the green grow on multiple levels beyond just the bottom line as greening your menu can help increase customer loyalty, deepen community ties and help the planet.
As energy prices continue to rise and environmental awareness grows, the organic foods segment continues to snowball at about 20 percent annually. According to a recent study released by Organic Alliance, Inc., more people than ever are seeking healthy and organic foods and spending an increasing percentage of their household budget on such items, despite the current trying economic situation. After tainted tomato scares and mad cow outbreaks, people today demand more than ever to know where their food comes from, under what conditions it is produced and, importantly, have access to options for healthier choices.
This market interest roots in a growing realization that our present food system is unsustainable. The average tomato racks up more frequent flier miles than the vacation traveler: estimates range from 1,500 to 2,500 miles, adding up to a transportation sector that accounts for nearly one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. One calorie of asparagus flown in from Chile requires 97 calories of transport energy. Buying local and supporting organic farming practices starts to change this unbalanced equation. According to long-term trials conducted by the Rodale Institute, organic farming practices have the potential to significantly reverse the statistical tides of global warming.
Easy Point of Entry
While many green initiatives require high time and resource investment, food choices can be a readily accessible entry to greening your operations—minus the large upfront investment costs. It’s a whole lot easier (and cheaper) to change your coffee choice than install solar panels. Plus, such food changes are often the most public and the ones your customers are apt to first see, like using fair trade, organic, shade grown coffee for in-room coffee service. Locating vendors and information to help make sustainable food choices has become a lot easier thanks to the increased market interest in sustainable food.
Approaches to Sustainable Foods
Like most decisions to green your operations, there isn’t one clear right or wrong way to do things. Decisions are based on individual factors such as your geographic location and financial resources. Various terms today describe and define sustainable foods. Here’s a sampling along with ideas on ways to incorporate these into your business:
Certified Organic
The National Organic Standards, administered by the USDA, assure that the food contains a minimum of 95 percent organic ingredients. This is identified by the green and white USDA Organic label and can be found on produce, dairy, meat, beverages and processed foods.
This labeling system provides a regulated means of identifying organic products; however, it does not give any perspective on who is actually producing the product, as large-scale multinational corporations jump on the organic bandwagon, or the amount of fossil fuel required for production and transport.
Local
An increasing trend is an emphasis on local food, showcasing regional specialties requiring short transport. The burgeoning idea of a “100 mile diet” highlights the concept that a majority of one’s food should come from within 100 miles. Local food often involves buying direct from area growers, at farmers’ markets, or joining an area CSA (community supported agriculture) with weekly farm-fresh deliveries throughout the growing season. An increasing number of restaurants have a “forager” on staff (if not the chef) that regularly visits local farmers’ markets to select only the freshest, best-tasting and unique foods to feature on their menu.
This personal relationship with the farmer often transcends the need for the National Organic Standards. If you personally know the farmers you buy from and trust their agricultural practices, it doesn’t matter if they went through organic certification. Sources for local food can be found by plugging your zip code into www.localharvest.org.
Seasonal
Related to the local movement, seasonal menus focus on featuring what is currently available in your area at any given time of year. A seasonal foods menu can be more challenging in the dead of winter in cold climate areas. However, a small but vibrant movement of businesses fully embracing seasonal and local foods will stock up during the peak season, freezing and preserving the produce for use during the winter months.
Fair Trade Certified
The Fair Trade Certified logo indicates that the product must be produced in a manner that not only pays the farmer a fair price, but also includes things like safe worker conditions, healthy community development, environmental sensitivity and the elimination of child labor. Key areas that are Fair Trade Certified include coffee, tea, cocoa, bananas and sugar.
Vegetarian and Vegan Options
Increasing numbers of people are going on a “low carbon” diet by eating lower on the food chain. By providing more vegetarian and vegan (no dairy) options, ideally using local fresh produce, you will give this group multiple reasons to both seek out and return to your establishment.
Once you start moving toward sustainable food, make sure your customers know about your efforts. This can be anything from identifying where the farms’ ingredients come from on your menu or a table-tent card in the rooms explaining why you serve Fair Trade coffee for the in-room coffee service.
Community Connections
Incorporating sustainable foods into your operations produces an additional rewarding result: community connection. Buying local creates relationships with those who produce food and keeps money flowing within your local economy while encouraging land stewardship, resulting in a healthier community.
“When local food production and organic farming are integrated within a community, food becomes a community asset and a selling point from a tourism perspective,” says Angie Tagtow, dietitian, owner of Environmental Nutrition Solutions and a leading advocate for the local food movement. “However, the rewards multiply. As more hospitality businesses use local, seasonal, sustainably-raised food, more fresh fruits and vegetables will be consumed resulting in positive nutrition and health impacts within the community. Thereby reducing health care costs.”
Don’t panic about going organic. Start small by just changing one key ingredient and let your customers know. Baby steps quickly add up to big incremental change, both for your bottom line and the state of the planet.
Lisa Kivirist is a national speaker, consultant and co-author of numerous books including the new release, ECOpreneuring: Putting Purpose and the Planet Before Profits. She is a Kellogg Food and Society Policy Fellow, helping people and businesses take action toward greening their operations. Kivirist and her family also run Inn Serendipity B&B in southwestern Wisconsin, considered among the “Top 10 Eco-Destinations in North America” by Natural Home magazine. In addition to serving local, seasonal fresh and organic cuisine, the inn is completely powered by renewable energy. For more about ECOpreneuring, see www.ecopreneuring.biz. Lisa can be reached at (608) 329-7056 or by e-mail at lisa@innserendipity.com.
