Written and published December 2014 by Olivia Engel, Green Dining Alliance Program Coordinator
The Green Dining Alliance was born out of St. Louis Earth Day’s event-greening program, Recycling On the Go (ROG). Like the ROG program, the Green Dining Alliance provides an opportunity for taking environmental action. It provides a tangible, everyday process for increasing the sustainability of our city’s restaurant industry.
This has been a big year for us. On January 1st of this year, there were only 22 certified restaurants in the St. Louis area. Now, at the end of 2014, diners have 51 Certified Members to choose from, with another 15 coming up soon.
Dollars spent at green restaurants support and expand many other local, sustainable markets.
Restaurants in our program are walked through their operations from a sustainable point of view, and assisted in setting goals for further decreasing their environmental impact.
Every restaurant that joins the program must commit to recycling, banning Styro-foam, and phasing in energy efficient lighting throughout the coming year. Most of our restaurant members go above and beyond these basic requirements with practices like composting, sourcing local food, supporting community give-back programs, from-scratch organic cooking, and more.
This means that GDA restaurants are actively making a difference, every day. Dining at GDA restaurants is a powerful way to cast your vote for a sustainable dining economy.
Turning Trash to Treasure
Diverting waste from landfills and back into Missouri’s recycling economy (which employs 25000+ people in MO) is one of the things that GDA restaurants do best. In 2014 alone, GDA restaurants diverted 924 tons from the landfill – to be recycled, instead of forgotten in a dump. In the case of food waste, this means less methane emissions from landfills.
Restaurant owners know that their customers want a better industry. More and more of their customers are tired of Styro-foam, and want to see less waste and more recyclables when they take their food to go.
The GDA will continue to work toward making sustainable dining the norm – with wastefulness and Styro-foam the outcasts.
Be a Part of a Growing Movement – Become a “Friend of SLED”
During this month’s “Friends of St. Louis Earth Day” fundraising campaign, your tax-deductible gift will help us deepen our impact and expand our program’s scope.
Other achievements in 2014 have included:
- Creation of St. Louis’ first Green Dining District in Maplewood
- Execution of two educational workshops for restaurant owners
- Addition of high-profile restaurateurs to the program, such as Dave Bailey, Gerard Craft, and Steve Gontram
- 12 GDA Dine Outs at member restaurants, bringing in an additional $2874 in restaurant sales to date
- Exceeding our goal of 2 new certified members per month
- 10 new media features, including features on FOX2 and STL TV LIVE
General Manager at Bridge, Kate Cushwa, walks the GDA through operations. GDA Program Manager Olivia Engel is happy to find Better Life products – used at all Baileys’ establishments.
Next year, we hope to measure energy savings in our restaurants, connect more farmers to more restaurants, form another Green Dining District, and increase our program’s waste diversion even more.
The growth of the program over the past year is proof that the St. Louis community desires to be a part of something good.
Our vision is for a Styrofoam-free St. Louis with the majority of restaurants recycling and composting, an abundance of local sourcing, kitchens stocked with non-toxic chemicals, and small businesses saving big through efficient equipment and community collaboration.
This vision is made possible by you. Thank you.
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