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Here at Dinkel's we are constantly figuring out ways to be better. In this world we all, always, have a direct relationship with the environment. Our primary relationship is using energy (electric, gas, etc.) and using food resources (ingredients). We've been around for a while (87 years now!) and we think that paying attention to this relationship will ensure that we can continue to stick around.
Here's what we're doing here:
Ingredients:
We constantly look for the best which often translates into the most local ingredients. We try to source all our ingredients to within three states. Why local? Local mean fresher and less energy to get to us.
Wheat all comes from the Dakotas and Wisconsin.
The wheat we buy is unbromated and unbleached.
We are buying some organic flours now.
Eggs and Dairy come mostly from southern Wisconsin.
We are now using organic carrots and bananas in our cakes.
We also use organic wheat bran and organic flour in some items.
(and are aggresively looking for other organic ingredients).
Our Honey comes from a small family owned farm in Southern
Wisconsin: Gentle Breeze Honey
Some ingredients we just can't find better than our German roots-
like the Lubeca Milk Chocolate we use. However we try to buy a bigger
order at once to reduce shipping energy costs.
We are developing products that include organic ingredients like our
Low Fat Raisin or Apricot muffins.
Beverages offered in the store:
Casteel Coffee- locally roasted in Evanston and completely
Fair Trade- Click here for more info.
Organic Valley single serve milk
Local, Organic Apple Rush Sparkling Juices
Merchandise- We try to buy only Made in the USA: Mugs and t-shirts
are all made right here in America
Energy Use:
Our bakery was built when people did not think of energy use! With that in mind we have made big steps to reduce our energy footprint:
We refitted a new burner on our oldest (from 1945) oven 5 years
ago reducing our natural gas usage by over 40 percent!
We have also improved on our baking schedule in order to have
the ovens on as short amount of time as possible.
We installed sensors on all our lights in our basement so that they are
only on when we're down there (instead of them being on all day, like
they used to be!)
In 2008 we switched almost all (more than 90 percent) of our
incandescent light bulbs to energy efficient compact fluorescent (we
have already noticed a changed in our electric bill!) And we will have
them all switched over by the end of this year (2009)
We switched to napkins that are from 100 percent recycled source-
printed with non-toxic inks.
In 2002 we switched one of our two dumpsters to be for recycling. We
recycle all our carboard, buckets, bottles and cans.
The packaging we use for sending our mail order is made from 80
percent recycling (both the boxes and the packing paper).
What we want to do:
Things you can expect to see from us in the next few months to a year (what we're
working on now):
We're putting in a first floor, wheel chair accessible bathroom.
Offering 'for here' mugs and plates for people enjoying our treats in the
store. Say goodbye to wasted paper cups and plates!
Replacing more of our ingredients to organic. Our strategy is one
ingredient at a time. |
