Owner Alert: The Hidden Dangers of the "Other" Plastic
From the General Manager
The Berkshire Food Co-op is committed to sustainability. That commitment comes directly from YOU.
Over 3,500 owners at Berkshire Food Co-op set the agenda for our vision of sustainability. You have told us that you want more fair trade products and we seek them out. Your purchases demonstrate that you enthusiastically support dozens of local producers. You were delighted to see motion sensor LED lighting in our new store which saves on our use of electricity.
But right now, more than anything, you want plastic eliminated from our packaging.
As consumers, we’ve come to expect the food we buy to stay fresher longer, and we’ve become accustomed to plastic as the cheapest packaging option. But now even Pepsi and Coke are committed to ending plastic containers. On a trial basis, Dasani water is now being served in aluminum cans at sports stadiums.
My experience reducing plastic started at the Oneota Co-op where I was a GM 13 years ago. Alarmed by the statistic that 9 out of 10 plastic single-use bottles end up in landfills and not recycled, the Co-op decided to ban all single-use water bottles. As an alternative, we made filtered water available in our Café and encouraged the use of reusable containers. At the time, that was quite revolutionary for the little town of Decorah, Iowa, but it was embraced by the community.
At BFC, we look for ways to promote sustainability every day. In prepared foods, we’re switching from plastic to compostable containers when available. We are now looking at more paper products for our prepared foods. We’re testing paper bags with a cellophane window to package rotisserie chickens. Cellophane is made from cellulose, a plant material, and is more readily compostable. Placing a cooked, all-natural chicken in a paper bag with an aluminum tray (aluminum is 100% recyclable) we can offer a nutritious protein in a container that is a vast improvement to plastic or something made from compostable plant material.
While we’re searching for more eco-friendly packaging, here’s how you can help as a shopper:
Remember your shopping bags
Buy reusable net bags for produce
Bring your own jars for bulk products and use our tare station in the Bulk Dept. You can weigh your empty jar, record the tare weight on a piece of masking tape, and fill the jar with your favorite bulk item.
Tell us what you see that’s sustainable in your travels. Is there a plastic-free deli container you found at another store that we should consider?
Meanwhile, In 2020, we’re forming a Green Team of staff members. The focus of the team is sustainability across all departments. Join us to make 2020 a year we reduce and reuse more than ever!
MassEcon Impact Awards
We are thrilled to share the news that we’ve been selected as one of three regional finalists to receive an Economic Impact Award from MassEcon.
“Our mission has always been to support the health and well-being of our community and this expansion was a massive investment in that mission. This recognition from MassEcon represents a sweet moment for us, even as we continue the work of keeping our Co-op a vibrant and sustainable hub for community in Southern Berkshire County.” - Troy Bond, General Manager
The Co-op’s recent expansion was partially funded through small loans made by members of the community who made the choice to invest on Main Street rather than on Wall Street. During the expansion process, we employed local contractors, subcontractors and vendors, infusing the local economy with nearly $2M. This is in addition to the approximately $1M the Co-op spends annually with local businesses for goods and services.
The committee was impressed with the scale of the expansion, the Co-op’s commitment to paying a living wage and the business’ long history of generosity in the community.
Finalists compete on a regional basis in the West, Central, Southeast, Northeast and Great Boston areas. On September 19th, finalists gathered in Boston and presented one-minute pitches to a panel of judges and business leaders describing their growth in the Commonwealth. The winners from each of the five regions will be announced in October.
“We are thrilled to recognize Massachusetts companies that contribute so much to the Commonwealth’s economic success. The diversity of industries across the state demonstrates that Massachusetts is an outstanding location for businesses to expand and thrive.” - Pete Abair, Exec. Director of MassEcon
This is the one-minute pitch we delivered in Boston…
Good food brings people together. In 1981, when families in Great Barrington couldn’t find the good food they wanted, they pooled their resources and created a cooperative that would become a trusted resource for good food at reasonable prices.
Almost 40 years after our creation, the Co-op continues to leverage community resources to create positive impact.
We have just completed a $4.5M expansion. Almost half of that money came from members of our community who made a commitment to invest in Main Street instead of on Wall Street. Our expansion allowed us to staff up by 20% and now we employ 72 of our friends and neighbors and strive to pay them a living wage.
We purchased $2M in local goods and services as a result of our expansion and every year, we spend about a $1M with local farmers, food producers and small businesses.
We are proud of our thriving cooperative business and proud to have had the chance to share our story.
