NEW ORLEANS—In honor of National Food Day, a time to champion affordable, healthy and sustainable food, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center announced a partnership with the Recirculating Farms Coalition and the New Orleans Food and Farm Network to create an urban food and farming center on 2.5 acres of land owned by the Convention Center, at the corner of Melpomene Street and Tchoupitoulas. The new center, named Growing Local NOLA, will be a hub for research, education, training, and community interaction on growing, marketing, and preparing healthy, fresh food.“We are thrilled to host the new food...

TUCSON, ARIZ.—The Holiday Inn Express in Tucson Ariz., installed EZ-Efficiency’s BiO-Therm in an effort to reduce energy expenses and minimize their carbon footprint. This successfully reduced natural gas consumption by 42 percent, and decreased laundry drying time by 20 percent.The Holiday Inn Express wanted to reduce energy costs while positively effecting the environment. An extensive product evaluation process ended with the selection of the BiO-Therm. The BiO-Therm is a unique patent pending energy savings add-on to commercial laundry dryers which increases efficiency by leveraging EZ-Efficiency’s “gas stepping” technology.Pilot test results showed a potential for large scale energy savings and...

TORRANCE, CALIF.—Farmer Brothers has launched Artisan Collection by Farmer Brothers, the company’s first specialty line of world-class coffees that are available through its nationwide direct-store-delivery (DSD) network. The line includes unique single origins as well as traditional coffeehouse favorites. Further, every bag of Artisan Collection coffees comes in innovative, one-way valved packaging to maintain a peak level of freshness and flavor. This unique line is one of the very few sustainably produced coffees sold at this scale through nationwide DSD distribution. As part of Farmer Brothers’ sustainability mission of reducing impact on the environment, these coffees are roasted in a...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association (NRA) and the Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) announced their alliance to help raise awareness of foodservice packaging recovery among restaurant operators and consumers. As part of this new effort, the groups are hosting a first-of-its-kind, industrywide Foodservice Packaging Recovery Summit November 7 to 8 in Austin, Texas, that will bring stakeholders together to collaborate on industry-driven solutions that increase the recovery of valuable resources and landfill diversion.At the inaugural summit, NRA and FPI members and invited guests will share expertise to gain a better understanding of how the industry is working to increase recovery...

NASHVILLE—MEIKO USA Inc. announced the launch of the kubeCS 70; a chemical sanitizing, door-type dish machine. The first of its kind in MEIKO’s history; the machine is the culmination of years of industry research and feedback from chemical agents, end users and service providers.Built with a single-piece of 304 stainless steel, door-construction is the kube’s namesake. A durable, wraparound, cube-like door eliminates the multi-piece door guides of other models. The digital control panel and dosing pumps are mounted underneath the machine for time-saving operation, maintenance and chemical agent access.The machine is completely modular and easily disassembled for quick refurbishing....

ST. JOSEPH, MICH.—Maytag Commercial Laundry has unveiled its new industrial line of soft-mount washer/extractors. Available in 180-, 230- and 275-pound models, the washer/extractors are designed to help industrial launderers meet the most demanding requests for large hotels and linen-service laundry operations. “With our new, larger capacity washer-extractors, we now better meet the industrial commercial laundry market’s needs,” said Bob English, general manager at Maytag Commercial Laundry. “Engineered with the latest technologies, our Maytag soft-mount washers offer dependability, utility savings and a suspension system that allows for easy installation.” The washers’ high-spin speed extractors remove more water, therefore reducing dry time and...

MANCHESTER, N.H.—Xeros Ltd., the U.K. company responsible for the development of “virtually waterless” laundry cleaning, has set its sights on the North American commercial laundry industry, starting in New England. On August 20, 2012 the Xeros system was installed at Manchester, New Hampshire’s Sterling Linen Services, a high-quality linen processing and rental service for area hotels, hospitals and restaurants. Best known for its environmentally-friendly polymer bead cleaning system, Xeros’ technology uses a fraction of the water, energy and detergent required for conventional cleaning methods, and provides significant cost-saving and environmental benefits. These benefits include using up to 90 percent less...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Restaurant Association (NRA) and the US Composting Council (USCC) announced a partnership to raise awareness about food waste diversion, composting education, and other sustainable activities for the benefit of restaurant operators of all sizes nationwide.  The NRA and USCC will share educational resources and identify collaborative opportunities that promote awareness of the role composting plays in waste reduction and improved soil and water quality.“We are pleased to join with the US Composting Council to better serve our members by providing resources on composting, waste reduction, and other sustainability efforts they can adopt to strengthen their businesses,”...

CLEVELAND, OHIO—The InterContinental Hotel Cleveland is the first hotel in Northeast Ohio to install an on-site bee apiary, with the purpose of generating natural honey for use in the Table 45 restaurant and furthering the hotel’s sustainability initiatives. An estimated 35 pounds of pure honey will be harvested annually from the beehive. The honey can also be bottled, labeled and used as guest amenities, and possibly sold in the hotel gift shop.The apiary installation follows the recent recognition of Table 45 as a two-star Certified Green Restaurant from the Green Restaurant Association. Table 45 and the other InterContinental Cleveland...

RIPON, WIS.—IPSO, a provider of commercial laundry equipment, announced that it has upgraded its on-premises tumble dryers with advanced technologies to help increase throughput. IPSO’s single pocket axial tumblers in 25-, 30-, 35- and 55-pound capacities have been improved to include reverse drying capabilities, and its stack tumble dryers are now available with Over-dry Prevention Technology (OPT). “We’re committed to providing our on-premises customers with the latest technologies,” said Dave Phillips, North American sales manager for IPSO. “The upgrades to our tumblers will save laundry managers time and money. These machines are reliable and durable, and provide the results demanded...