Downtown Springdale Alliance Launches Compostable Cup & Collection Program with Food Loops in the Downtown Outdoor Dining District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 23, 2022
Contact: Jill Dabbs, Executive Director
Downtown Springdale
jill@downtownspringdale.org
(501) 425-0478
Downtown Springdale Alliance Launches Compostable Cup & Collection Program with Food Loops in the Downtown Outdoor Dining District
Springdale, AR – Downtown Springdale Alliance is partnering with Food Loops, a sustainability solutions company based in Rogers, AR to provide restaurants and bars in the Downtown Outdoor Dining District with cups that are 100% compostable. The program, funded by the Tyson Family Foundation, is designed to heighten the community’s awareness of food waste and make it easy for consumers to close the food loop by composting their cups.
Downtown Springdale piloted this program in 2021 and began composting cups on March 1, 2021. Last year more than 800 pounds of cups were composted instead of going to landfill.
“Food Loops is excited about the sustainability progress being made in the Downtown Outdoor Dining District in Springdale and with good reason. The district is one of our fastest growing markets in NWA and to date, nearly 70% of the cold cups distributed this year have been collected and processed into compost,” says Tom Rohr, CEO of Food Loops. “The recent Street Dinner and Juneteenth celebration were also successfully completed, with both hitting a 70+% diversion rate from the landfill.”
Patrons at restaurants and bars in the Outdoor Dining District can consume their beverages in compostable to go cups and will find receptacles to dispose of their cups on all the trash cans within the Outdoor Dining District. The receptacles were designed by Rick Barry, Senior Planner from the City of Springdale and Jeffro Brown, Downtown Springdale Alliance board member and owner of Odd Soul. The receptacles for the compostable cups are clearly designated for compostable cups. All the collected cups from the district will be composted and will go right back into the soil with area farmers and gardeners.
“Downtown Springdale is committed to activating our downtown spaces and creating outdoor experiences for the community. This partnership with Food Loops enables us to do this in a sustainable way and bring greater attention to the value and ease of composting within the district,” says Jill Dabbs, Executive Director of Downtown Springdale Alliance. “We’re grateful to have the support of the Tyson Family Foundation who is making this innovative program possible.”
For more information about the program, visit downtownspringdale.org.
ABOUT DOWNTOWN SPRINGDALE ALLIANCE: Downtown Springdale Alliance is a nonprofit that was formed in 2011 with a mission to create vibrancy in our dynamic downtown. For more information, visit www.downtownspringdale.org.
ABOUT FOOD LOOPS: Established in 2017, Food Loops is passionate about diverting food waste and recyclables from the area landfill. Through hands-on involvement with everything from zero-waste events, to working with area food trucks, restaurant owners, hospitals and schools, up through the Fortune 500 companies right here in our backyard—Food Loops processes between 70 and 100 tons of waste monthly for its customers. Once collected, food waste is then processed into sustainable compost, which in turn is sold to grow more food—hence our name, Food Loops. For more information, contact Tom Rohr at Tom@foodloops.net.
ABOUT THE TYSON FAMILY FOUNDATION: Established in 1970, the Tyson Family Foundation supports efforts for education, health, arts and culture and youth programs as well as a scholarship program for Tyson Foods employees and their families. The foundation has endowed and supported local, regional and national organizations committed to furthering access to knowledge, promoting creativity and supporting communities. The Foundation is currently led by President Olivia Tyson.