Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy presented an award to Cafe Yumm! at the Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show yesterday for its sustainable practices and positive influence on the community.
“Every other month, businesses we try to applaud are businesses known for their sustainable practices. This month’s winner is Cafe Yumm!” Piercy said. “It honors Eugene businesses that make decisions based on the triple bottom line: taking extra care in how they treat people and the planet while supporting economic prosperity.”
As the winner of this award, Cafe Yumm! was recognized by the mayor and received two interviews that will be played on all Cumulus Eugene radio stations for two months, which is estimated to bring in thousands of dollars in advertising revenue by the committee in charge of reviewing the candidates for the award.
“We intend to continually improve,” said Mark Beauchamp, co-owner of Cafe Yumm! “We improve our business based on the feedback we receive from our customers.”
The restaurant features a menu developed to balance a combination of elemental foods, such as rice and beans, and is open to customer feedback in person, via e-mail and through a variety of social networking sites.
Cafe Yumm! started its business in Eugene in 1997, and despite tough economic times, has opened nine other locations throughout Oregon.
Cafe Yumm! uses renewable energy to heat the restaurant and cook food while following through on the environmentally viable business plans with post-consumer paper in their table coverings. The restaurant also has returnable containers for to-go orders and is turning food waste into compost.
Throughout the years, Cafe Yumm! has been able to improve its environmental footprint by maintaining high standards for its franchise restaurants and keeping up with new sustainable technologies to be adopted at all the locations, Piercy said when she handed the award to Beauchamp.
The business will start working more closely with Oregon farmers in the next year to expand its offering in organic food while also supporting the farming industry.
The Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show was home to at least 250 exhibits this past weekend at the Lane County Fairgrounds to educate people about sustainable projects for around the house.
The exposition included sustainable exhibits about home, garden, recycling, food, living and art, as well as new technology in the automotive field that is making vehicles more environmentally safe.
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