Washington Restaurant The Grange Cuts Down Pollution with On-Site Farm
Food transportation emissions translates to 6% of total global emissions.
Duvall, WA – Food transportation produces 3 gigatons of CO2 emissions every year. The average US food product travels 1500 miles from the farm before it arrives on a plate. Food transportation emissions translates to 19% of total global food emissions and as much as 6% of total global emissions. Washington Restaurant The Grange reduces their restaurant’s pollution significantly by producing their own food at their on-site Hearth Farm. The company’s on-site production includes various food items such as herbs, grapes, produce and pork. The Grange’s institutional worm bin further lowers emissions through cycling food waste from the Grange and Hearth Farm back to this bin; there it is broken down and rendered valuable compost through the worm’s digestion process. This compost then goes back into their farm fields to increase crop yields.
Last June, the Grange’s sustainability practices earned them the prestigious Certified Green Restaurant® certification from The Green Restaurant Association, a national nonprofit organization helping restaurants become more environmentally sustainable since 1990. The Grange has taken 29 environmental steps and
earned over 100 GreenPoints™ in six environmental
categories: Energy, Water, Waste, Reusables & Disposables,
Chemicals & Pollution, Food, and Building & Furnishing.
3 Gigatons of C02 emissions are caused by food transportation annually.
Along with their on-site food production, the Grange is reducing their restaurant’s pollution using a programmable thermostat and occupancy sensors for their lights. In addition, The Grange is saving hundreds of gallons of water with low-flow faucets. With over 40% vegetarian main meals, The Grange also offers their customers sustainable meal options. To further decrease their environmental footprint, The Grange recycles pre-consumer food waste into soil amendment.
“I applaud The Grange on their dedication to reducing their environmental impact,” said Michael Oshman, CEO and founder of the Green Restaurant Association. “Sarah, Luke, and their team have set an example in Duvall for restaurants across Washington and the nation to follow. By cultivating their own farm and growing their own produce, The Grange is proving it’s possible for any restaurant owner to take initiative to change their restaurant’s environmental footprint right now.”
Sarah Cassidy and Luke Woodward, husband and wife co-owners, are happy to receive this certification. “We are honored by this Green Restaurant Association distinction”, Cassidy says. “Luke and I come to the restaurant world through the farm field, as organic growers of over 20 years in this valley, and thus our hearts lead this local endeavor. Having ours and other valley farmers’ provisions on the menu is a carbon short-circuit. And bringing much of our farm and restaurant food waste to our institutional worm bin closes the cycle further! We are proud to be recognized by GRA for our efforts.”
About the Green Restaurant Association
The Green Restaurant Association is a national non-profit organization that provides the only official Certified Green Restaurants® mark in the country. Since 1990, the GRA has pioneered the Green Restaurant® movement and has been the leading voice within the industry encouraging restaurants to listen to consumer demand to green their operations using transparent, science-based certification standards. With their turnkey certification system, the GRA has made it easy for thousands of restaurants to become more environmentally sustainable in a profitable manner. The GRA has been featured on CNN, NBC Nightly News, NPR, and in The New York Times, and The Washington Post. For more information visit www.dinegreen.com.