The Green Dining Alliance has had a record year in 2015, adding over 35 restaurants, infiltrating new dining districts like Ferguson and the U City Loop, and diverting over 1,500 tons of organic and compostable materials from landfills.
The GDA is up to 81 member restaurants, nearly double the 46 at this time last year – a 52% increase. Our member restaurants have banned styrofoam and reduced their water and energy use with help from the GDA, reducing their environmental footprint and setting the example as leaders of positive change in the industry. Since our inception in late 2012, our member restaurants have diverted over 9,144 tons from the landfill.
By this time next year we hope to welcome our second Green Dining District in the St. Louis area, following the standards set in Maplewood in 2014.
We’ve continued to build and maintain relationships with Saint Louis institutions like Cafe Kudzu at the Zoo, Bixby’s at The Saint Louis History Museum, both Schlafly breweries and Urban Chestnut. We’ve included some of Saint Louis’s finest restaurants, including those run by several of 2015’s honored restaurateurs: EY Entrepeneur of the Year, Dave Bailey; James Beard Award winner, Gerard Craft; Chef of the Year winner, Bob Colosimo; and James Beard Semi-Finalist, Kevin Nashan. Many member restaurants won the “Best-Of” readers polls from the RFT: best bbq, Salt + Smoke; best meat market, Bolyard’s; and best vegetarian restaurant, Lulu’s Local Eatery. Salt + Smoke also won STL Mag’s best brisket category, and Rooster on South Grand won their community involvement category.
We saw the departure of St. Louis Earth Day’s Executive Directer, Cassandra Hage and the GDA Program Coordinator, Olivia Engel, and although we were saddened to see them leave, we welcome the new energy in our programs.
The GDA will be an unstoppable force in 2016 – we plan on welcoming at least 35 new restaurants into our program by this time next year. We will continue to grow more robust, attracting a diverse range of member restaurants and educating others to integrate sustainability into every applicable area of their operations. We are rapidly approaching the day when GDA membership becomes the industry standard for restaurants in Saint Louis.
The GDA’s logo in the window serves as a beacon to sustainably minded diners, our promise that the restaurant in question is working hard to reduce their carbon footprint.
We look forward to certifying your favorite restaurants in 2016!
