Bon Appetit Cafes: Gold Star

Bon Appetit Management Company runs 400 cafes in 28 states in colleges, corporations and public venues like museums.

If you live in the SF Bay Area, you can find them at the de Young Museum (Marin Suns hamburgers, yum), AT&T park, Cisco, Santa Clara University, and USF.

In line with the Chronicle's article today on eating local on a budget , there was a small companion article on Bon Appetit. Muchos kudos to Bon Appetit. They are a model for what is possible in sustainable food service. They announced this week that they are taking steps to reduce their carbon fooprint. Very impressive. They will start buying more food produced within 150 miles of where it's served and query big suppliers on the country-of-origin. In their cafes and cafeterias, they will label which foods are locally produced or are lower-carbon alternatives.

I needed a piece of good news to perk me up after that last post on the almonds.

Thanks, Bon Appetit, for the shot of optimism. Let's hope more restaurants and food service companies follow suit.

Related: Local Forage post on Certified Humane Eggs at de Young Museum cafe.