Hawthorne Valley is pleased to mark the 54th Earth Day with the launch of the Zero Waste Initiative at the Farm Store.
In line with Earth Day 2024’s theme of reducing plastics in the environment, the Farm Store has developed the Zero Waste Initiative to address the use of single-use plastics and food waste.
The Farm Store has participated in the Columbia County BYO Initiative for several months to encourage our staff and customers to bring their own reusable cups for coffee and tea. Beginning on April 22, customers are also encouraged to bring their own cutlery sets for deli bar meals, and refill water bottles at the newly installed water filling station.
“These additional offerings are a natural progression of our efforts to phase out single-use plastics as much as possible in a retail environment,” said Jeremy Laurange, Director of Retail & Enterprise Development. “We know it will be a long journey as we seek to help shift the cultural mindset from one of disposability to one of reusability. We appreciate our community’s partnership and understanding as we work together to co-create a more sustainable world.”
Other Earth Day offerings at the Farm Store include a customer giveaway while supplies last, and tree seedlings from Arthur’s Point Farm for purchase, in addition to biodynamic® vegetable starts from Hawthorne Valley Farm. The Zero Waste Initiative is also addressing food waste by collecting food scraps from the kitchen and produce departments for composting at the Greenport Transfer Station. All these efforts are part of Hawthorne Valley’s efforts to become a Net Positive campus. To learn more, please contact Josh Wise, Campus Director.
