In turn, we are able to cut down on shipping emissions, support local agriculture, and eat a seasonal diet that supports our health.

You may notice that we alter our ingredient list for some items on our menu such as our juices, soups, salads, and sandwiches. Our relationship with local farmers and distributors is at the heart of our cafe, and so we curate our menu based on what is fresh on the market.

By sourcing what is available, we are able to mitigate stress on the food system and cut down on food waste.

Regenerative Agriculture refers to the step beyond organic, sustainable agriculture, in that it not only finds and practices ways of farming the Earth in a way that preserves and regenerates it for future generations, but it also works to support the PEOPLE involved in the agricultural industry.

We partner with WyoFarm Composting in Thayne, WY to compost all of our food scraps and compostable single use items such as our plant fiber based lids, straws, soup/smoothie bowls, forks and spoons.

Unfortunately, although we have sourced “compostable” single use food and beverage containers, some of these still contain PFAS which are chemicals used to line containers to resist heat, grease, and water. These PFAS do not break down in the composting cycle and instead build up in compost and leach into soil and water. This means our coffee cups and PLA plastic lids NEED to be directed towards the landfill to keep from contaminating the recycling stream.

We are still looking for a better single-use solution (if it exists) but by buying compostable materials to be used at Inversion Cafe, we are putting pressure on the market to move towards compostable packaging solutions.

Although we cannot compost some of our “compostable” single use items, we still have chosen to use “compostable” over “recyclable” because of the “Upstream” impact they have. This means they require less material and generate fewer emissions in the production process than other materials such as recyclable plastics. We feel that even though our containers will end up in the landfill, we are helping to support impact on the production end.

The Take-away: REUSE, REUSE, REUSE. Our mission towards zero waste is only possible with your help! We encourage you to bring in your own reusable mug, We provide alternatives to single-use vessels by partnering with AVANT, a local reusable food and beverage container service which enables members to decrease their single use impact (learn more by clicking the link below). We also have high quality reusable cups for you to purchase. It is up to you, the consumer, to choose these reusable options over single-use options to keep waste out of the landfill.

Ideally, we would source all we need from our own backyard. Since this is not feasible, we need to keep in mind the emissions impact our own energy consumption and that of the companies we partner with in order to get us the ingredients we need to provide healthy, accessible food to our community. We need to take responsibility for the footprint we will inevitably have on the earth and so as we continue our quest to do that, we will partner with and learn from others who are already on the right track along the way.

Companies such as Grounds for Change, which we source our coffee beans from, has partnered with Carbonfund.org to offset 100% of the global warming emissions associated with their coffee. Mountain Rose Herbs, which we source our organically grown herbals from, uses the EPA Energy Star Portfolio Manager to help them track energy, water, and carbon emissions, which they then report each year in their annual Sustainability Report, made completely accessible to their consumers. Inversion Cafe promises to strive towards zero emissions status, and we are excited about taking you with us on this journey.