Archive for the ‘News’ Category
The End of “Paper or Plastic” in Austin
Austin’s going bag-less.
29 days from now Austin’s Single-Use Carryout Bag Ordinance goes into effect. If all of this is news to you, here are some of the facts.
The ordinance, unanimously passed by City Council on March 2, 2012, regulates the types of bags that can be distributed by business establishments in Austin and encourages a shift to reusable bags. The ordinance does not eliminate all plastic or paper carryout bags, but it does set some requirements for the types of bags allowed. You can check out the nitty gritty details of the ordinance, including which types of bags are allowed, here.
According to some estimates, Austinites use 263 million plastic bags a year. Fewer bags will reduce the amount of waste Austin sends to the landfill, moving us closer to our zero-waste goal.
For many of you, this is no sweat off your back. You may be a reusable bag guru, and would rather precariously pile things in your arms than accept a plastic bag.
Since opening our doors, the only bags found at in.gredients are small recycled paper bags (for people who’ve forgotten their containers) and reusable bags of various types and sizes. Our commitment to being a zero-waste and package-free store has been well received, with our customers taking an extra step to bring their own bags and containers.
If the thought of not hearing “paper or plastic” at the checkout feels strange, here’s how to prepare. Gather all those bags you already have and put them in easily accessible locations- your car, your bike bag, your purse- so you’ll never be without one. If you don’t have any reusable bags, get some from your favorite store or farmers market. Or if you’re feeling particularly crafty, you can make your own out of recycled materials (choose something heavy duty, so it won’t break with the weight of groceries.) It’s always nice to have a small foldable bag that you can keep in your purse or pocket, so you won’t have to panic if and when you forget your bags (it’s bound to happen.) You’ll also want to make sure to wash your bags on a regular basis, avoiding food contaminants.
Moving away from single-use bags is happening internationally. In 2009, the United Nations Environmental Program called for a worldwide ban on lightweight plastic bags. In some African countries (Mali, Mauritania, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa and Kenya) certain types of plastic bags are banned. Italy was the first nation in Europe to ban plastic bags, with France following suit by 2014. In other countries (Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Taiwan and some cities in India) certain plastic bags are taxed. Here in the US, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle and Brownsville, Texas have implemented versions of bag bans or specific bag-related taxes.
It’s catching on, and we’re proud that Austin is following suit.
To celebrate this step towards sustainability, Austin Zero Waste Alliance is throwing a “Bag to the Future” party on Thursday, February 28th at 8 pm. Come dance to the sweet tunes of Whiskey Shivers as we applaud our progress in becoming a zero-waste city. Stay tuned for the more details on the event. Here’s to a less wasteful future, everywhere!
(Photo: Chicago Tonight)
in.gredients Holiday Gift Basket
Looking for a gift this holiday season? If you’re hoping to stick with local gifts this year we have a great idea for you. Our holiday gift baskets are full of local goodies, wrapped in reusable containers, and crafted to make your holidays full of joy.
We love options, so we have a tea themed basket and a coffee themed basket. Check out the pictures below for more details.
They’re available in.store now, happy holidays!
in.gredients Coffee Holiday Basket
in.gredients Tea Holiday Basket
Planning a 100-Mile Thanksgiving Dinner
It’s almost Thanksgiving! By now, the meal planning is probably in full-force and you’re prepping yourself for a few days of serious family time. While out shopping for your holiday dishes, challenge yourself to go local. And if you’re feeling up especially adventurous, consider shooting for a 100-mile Thanksgiving.
A 100-mile Thanksgiving means you’re aiming for all your ingredients to be sourced from within 100 miles of your dinner table. Thanksgiving is a holiday based around seasonal feasting, so it seems like a good idea to shoot for fresh, local food.
If a completely local meal seems daunting, try to source one dish locally, or get your turkey from a local farm. If you’re at a loss of where and what’s available to you, check out Local Harvest, a website where you enter in your zip code and get a map of farms and local food sources nearby.
Live in Austin? The produce available to you will range from kale to poblano peppers. You can stick with traditional dishes, such as honey roasted sweet potatoes, or think outside the box and whip up some jalapeno cranberry corn bread. Being in the height of cold-weather crop season, we’re lucky to have an abundance of produce at our fingertips. Filling your menu with local veggies will not only highlight the local food, it will also up the nutritional value of your dinner.
If you’re shooting for local and can’t find the traditional Thanksgiving foods in your region, consider shaking it up. We all live in a unique landscape with a food history all its own. Perhaps take this Thanksgiving as an opportunity to showcase the foods that symbolize where you live. Check out these unique menu ideas from five regions of the United States.
We also found this fantastic infographic that maps out localizing your Thanksgiving. There are plenty of resources out there to help you plan a local Thanksgiving. Have a fantastic holiday, and happy eating!
We’re on TV!
Our co-founder, Christian Lane, got invited onto KVUE Austin to talk about in.gredients and winning Austin Chronicle 2012′s Best New Local Business.
You can check out the video here.
Thanks again to all the Austin Chronicle reader’s that voted for us, our fantastic vendors and our loyal customers.
We’ve Been Named Austin Chronicle’s Best New Local Business!
What a wonderful thing to wake up to on this Thursday morning.
The reader’s of the Austin Chronicle (AC) have spoken and have selected in.gredients as Austin’s Best New Local Business for 2012. We’re honored (and beyond ecstatic) about being selected, and want to send out a big thank you to our amazing customers, vendors and Austin Chronicle readers who gave us their vote.
We love to be recognized as a place where people can gather around local food. Whether it’s stocking up your pantry and fridge or enjoying local beer (or coffee, or kombucha) on our porch, we’re all about keeping things local.
The Austin Chronicle’s write up about our business made us blush, and we’re tickled at the idea of changing people’s grocery store experience when they head to our store.
“It’s easy to forget that In.gredients is a grocery store. We’re so used to seeing representations of food so spritzed and prepped, dressed and resined, that we sometimes lose the sense that we’ve come to fortify our bodies, hearts, and souls. When confronted with humble bins of foodstuffs – farm-fresh produce, varieties of granola, cocoa-dusted almonds, quinoa – as well as local favorites – Miles of Chocolate, Eastside Pie pizza slices, and pineapple/basil paletas from Mom & Pops – it’s a little jarring (Mason pun intended). If we feel “Grrrrreat!” it’s not due to the ubiquitous presence of some cartoon corporate mascot; it’s because we feel good about filling our jugs with Austin-brewed beer and local honey. And when they threw in a free sprig of basil on our last visit, well, that made us happier than a decoder ring. Therein lies the prize.“
Thanks AC, you can fill up your growlers and mason jars at in.gredients any time.
A big shout out to our vendor’s, Johnson’s Backyard Garden, Baby Zach’s, 512 Brewery and Wunder-Pilz for making the list. We love supporting local vendors like y’all. Congratulations to the other East Side food-based businesses – Blue Dahlia, HOPE farmers market, Eater Austin, and East Side King, we’re lucky to have such an abundance of amazing places to get, talk, and think about food.
To celebrate this awesome title, we want to thank our customers. Bring in your copy of the Austin Chronicle and get a $1 off your favorite beer, or take home a sprig of basil, it is, after all, what makes the people happy.
You – our customers and vendors – make us happy, thanks for all your support and for voting us Austin’s best new local business!
Pint Night Featuring Lone Star Texas Bock
We love that this weather still calls for outdoor events where the only addition needed is possibly putting on a sweater.
To celebrate, we’re starting to host featured brewer nights on a regular basis. We think it’s a great way to showcase the amazing things “brewing” (we love a good pun) down here in Austin.
Come out this Wednesday, November 7th from 7-9 p.m. and raise your glasses to Lone Star’s Texas Bock. This lager has a roasted, malty aroma with a mild caramel taste. And the best part about it (except for the beer, of course) is you get to take home a Lone Star pint glass (first come, first serve- we’ve got 50 glasses.) Good beer and free glassware? Yes, please.
On top of all that magic, the Bee Creek Boys will be playing on our porch starting at 8 p.m. Come down and enjoy the beautiful Fall evening, listen to some local tunes AND drink beer out of your new pint glass. Wednesday evenings just got more awesome. Happy drinking!
We’ve Been Named a 2012 Tastemakers!
What does it mean to be named a Tastemaker, you might ask? It turns out that the people over at TakePart have looked at thousands of businesses across the country, selecting shops they feel live up to the Food, Inc. ethos of fixing our national food system. They want to thank in.gredients for being committed to sustainable, organic, and humane products.
By being a selected Tastemaker, TakePart will share the in.gredients story with their more than two million readers. We’re proud of the work we do at in.gredients, and love to share our ethos with as many people as possible. By building community around food, and highlighting the people and businesses that care about food, we’re taking steps towards fixing our broken food system.
We couldn’t have done any of this without our amazing customers. You all care about food, sustainability and building a strong community. With your support we’ve been able to build a business we’re proud of. We’re so happy to see that some of our fantastic vendors made the 2012 Tastemakers list. Congratulations to Antonelli’s Cheese Shop, Quality Seafood Market, Zhi Tea and Pasta & Co. We love building relationships with local vendors and supporting their businesses.
We’re so thankful to be in a city where people are excited about keeping things local.
Here’s to our amazing customers, vendors and to being named a 2012 Tastemaker!
It’s Turkey Time!
It’s November! With Halloween over, it’s time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. No rest for the weary during the holidays. The wonderful thing about Thanksgiving is it’s a holiday based around food. Our favorite kind of celebration.
For many, the main feature of the holiday is the turkey. Luckily, you can pick up a free range, humanely raised turkey at in.gredients, bringing you one step closer to a local Thanksgiving meal.
This year, we’re offering 100% pasture-raised Broad Breasted White Turkeys from our friends at Smith & Smith farm in Rogers, TX. The turkeys will be fresh-frozen, meaning they will be butchered at the farm and immediately frozen.
Who wants another caged turkey when you can have a bird that you know has been humanely raised on a local farm? Order now, because we’ve only reserved 50 turkeys, and they’ll go quickly!
Turkey prices:
Early Bird Special: $5.50/lb for all orders placed by November 12th
Orders Placed from November 13th-19th: $6.00/lb
In order to reserve a turkey, a $40 non-refundable deposit is required. The remainder will be calculated when we receive the birds from the farmer. Early Bird Turkeys will be ready for pickup on Saturday, November 17th at in.gredients. Orders placed after the 12th will be available for pick-up on the 21st – the day before Thanksgiving. Make sure you hang on to your receipt for pick-up!
Turkey size options (Smith & Smith will do their best to deliver a turkey in your requested weight range. Most birds will be in the 15-25 lb range):
- Small 15-18 lbs
- Medium 18-22 lbs
- Large 22-25 lbs
Orders can be placed in-store or online via PayPal by clicking the turkeys below.
If you have any questions please call 512-275-6357 or email and we’d be glad to help!
The Politics of Food: Where our Presidential Candidates Stand
It’s Presidential election time. Which means debates, attack ads and a lot of politically charged discussions.
Before election day rolls around (Tuesday, November 6th) take some time to get to know where the candidates stand on issues that matter to you.
A big one for us is food (surprise, surprise). With legislation like the Farm Bill, and government agencies like the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), it’s important to know where the candidates stand. Having served as president for four years, it’s easy to see what Obama has done in regards to food policy and safety. Luckily, with a little digging we came up with a good foundation on where BOTH candidates stand when it comes to food.
Food Republic published an agriculture policy cheat sheet that gives a good overview of food policy. Let’s start by looking at Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.
His position on America’s farmers and subsidies have changed over the years. Starting back in 1994, during a Massachusetts senate campaign, Romney called for the “virtual elimination” of the Department of Agriculture and for cutting back farm subsidies. Fast forward to a 2012 statement in January, where Romney declared farm subsidies a national security issue and maintained they were vital to the safety of the American food supply.
With his announcement of his agricultural advisory committee in March of 2012 Romney said, “I will work to ensure that our food supply will remain steady, safe and affordable for all citizens.” Later that month, when asked about maintaining current farm subsidies by WDAY-TV in North Dakota he said, “We’re competing with other nations around the world, and other nations, in many cases, have various subsidies, which they use to take advantage of market dynamics around the world.” He went on to say that making unilateral changes in our current policies could put as at a disadvantage in a global context.
In regards to food safety, Romney believes a major problem over successive presidencies is the burden regulations have on the economy. He stated that regulations function as a hidden tax on Americans and cited that such regulations are barriers to growth. He believes that the farmers and producers have a long history of taking responsibility for their own safety measures, and preventative practices should be developed by the growers, handlers, processors and others in the supply chain. There isn’t any record of where he stands on labeling genetically modified organism (GMO) foods.
Romney believes that the Federal Government shouldn’t dictate what American’s eat, but notes that there are health challenges of the growing obesity epidemic that represents a public health crisis. He believes in an emphasis on a balanced diet, and plans on having public health programs highlighting the importance of healthy eating.
Now on to President Obama.
In the last four years, food policy and safety has been given the spotlight. We all remember in November of 2011 when congress declared pizza as a vegetable (in reality, it was the 1/8 cup of tomato paste that counts as the vegetable, but still.) Along the lines of food access, food stamp use has increased by 46% since 2008. When a proposal to reduce the amount of sugar, salt and fat marketed to kids came to congress, it was struck down without any intervention from the White House. And in January of this year, the USDA announced it was closing 259 domestic offices.
On the flip side, within the first 100 days in office, President Obama established the Food Safety Working Group, passing the most comprehensive reform in food safety in 70 years. Obama also believes that GMO food should have mandatory labeling. Obama has endorsed the Senate’s version of the farm bill, which would eliminate costly subsidies for farmers, and increase spending for healthy food initiatives.
Under the President, the USDA approved a new nutrition guide known as MyPlate, and although it has been criticized by some, has had more positive reactions than its predecessor, MyPyramid. Obama wants to lend support to regional food hubs and the establishment of grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods, providing effective ways to promote healthier food choices.
The USDA also revised nutrition standards for school lunches (which passed in January of this year) requiring more vegetables and fruit, a whole grain requirement and milk that is 1% fat or less. First Lady Michelle Obama has started Let’s Move, a national campaign bringing issues like healthy eating, food deserts and childhood obesity to the forefront of the nation’s dialogue. She also had a garden planted at the White House, using it for nutrition education. There is even a blog, Obama Foodorama, following White House food initiatives from “policy to pie”.
There you have it, our candidates and their view on food policy.
Hopefully this gives you a better idea of where the candidates stand. With the election less than a week away, it’s time to buckle down, educate yourself and get out and vote!
