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!
