Every company in the food business is a culprit when it comes to environmental impact - walk past any of the city's restaurants on garbage day, and you need not look much further for proof. Since we launched Gourmet in 2004 we have tried to build the basic principles of environmental and economic sustainability into the way we work on a daily basis. We're not hard-core by any means - and some of our efforts are small - but others are possibly (hopefully?) significant, and will help our clients feel good about spending their money with us.
There are certain things we can't control: we need a gas-guzzling truck for deliveries, and we are captive to the retail practice of over packaging. On other fronts we have a little bit of leeway, and here are some of the ways we reduce our overall footprint. Stay tuned for a weekly post on each of the following topics, with additional resources which will help you understand the issues at hand and source better products, in case you feel inspired to integrate any of these practices into your own daily life...and please feel free to share any resources you have !!
- We practice full composting of all food and paper products, year-round, and are grateful to the City of Dorval for providing this awesome service.
- We use reusable and recyclable packaging for all our products, with the exception of marinated meats, which are vaccuum packed for safety reasons.
- We buy most of our products in bulk, which significantly reduces disposable packaging.
- We cook exclusively with appliances which are fueled by propane, which is cleaner to produce and burn than electricity or natural gas.
- We keep our own organic gardens, for fresh herbs and veg, and are adding an additional 40 square feet of garden space this year.
- We use certified organic eggs.
- We buy local indgrediants.
- We read. And then read some more. We want to know what's happening in terms of sustainable practices - here at home and abroad.
What does this mean for you? If you are a customer, you get the benefit of better tasting food which has been produced by people who genuinely love their product (including us!) and depend far less on the use of hormones, chemical fertilizers and antibiotics. What does it mean for us? We sleep better at night.
