THE INDEPENDENT GROCER, WHICH OPERATES FOUR STORES IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, CONTINUES TO ELIMINATE PLASTICS IN ITS RETAIL FOODSERVICE DEPARTMENT
When it comes to building a more-sustainable retail foodservice department, Oliver’s Market is a pioneer —the result of its decades of environmental initiatives.
Since 2011, Oliver’s Market, an independent and employee-owned grocery store founded in 1988 that now operates four stores in Northern California, has been certified through the Sonoma County Green Business Program. Program participants must comply with all environmental regulations and meet program standards for conserving resources, preventing pollution and minimizing waste.
Ten years later, in 2021, it met even higher sustainability goals by banning foam-based products for its stores’ prepared foods packaging. Fast forward to 2022 and Oliver’s Market continues to push beyond plastics.
“It can be daunting to make all-or-nothing sustainability goals, as they only increase the odds that one might throw hands in the air and decide it’s all just too difficult. But, similar to adopting a healthier diet or learning a new habit, small changes can add up and make a big difference over time,” Oliver’s Market posted on its website last month.
As consumer demand for sustainable products and practices continues to grow, finding a balance between retail foodservice convenience and sustainability can become challenging.
“While grocery stores have become places for convenience, this has also created the potential for them to be places of waste,” Annie Sherman, sustainability coordinator for Oliver’s Market, told WGB earlier this year. “However, the winds are shifting due to both customers demanding more sustainable options, and the rising economic and environmental costs of waste.”
Because foam waste is not recyclable in Sonoma County, a new ordinance called the Disposable Food Service Ware & Polystyrene Ban took effect Jan. 1, prohibiting retail sales and food serviceware foam.
To proactively prepare for this requirement, Oliver’s removed all foam coolers for sale on its retail shelves and replaced them with a fiber-compostable option. The grocer said it also removed all foam plates, cups and other foodware on its shelves and replaced them with recyclable and fiber-compostable options.
“In our prepared foods departments, the only foam food serviceware product we were using was a foam tray for sandwiches and that was easily replaced with a fiber-compostable tray instead,” Sherman told WGB in an email.
“For over a decade, Oliver’s has provided reusable and recyclable sturdy hot bar containers that customers report reusing to pack lunches, store leftovers and ultimately are accepted in the blue mixed recycling containers. We continue to provide these for customers who prefer this container over the fiber-compostable ones,” Sherman said.
When it comes to the deli, Oliver’s sandwich wrapping is 100% compostable. “From the sandwich paper to the bag we provide around the wrapped sandwich, all of the sandwich wrapping is accepted in Sonoma County’s compost bins,” Sherman said. At Oliver’s, the bag itself is also the order form, she said.
To accompany its made-to-go orderings, the California grocer offers reusable bamboo utensils, which customers can purchase and bring in to use again for their orders. “We place them for sale on our hot bar, so they are for sale where customers are likely to notice and use for their hot bar or salad bar order,” Sherman said.