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Saxbys Coffee reduces food and coffee waste on college campuses during Food Saver Challenge

As the holiday season approaches, college campus cafés are preparing for the influx of students ordering coffee and pastries to power them through final exams. But once the semester officially ends, what happens to the product that isn’t sold? That’s what Saxbys cafés across nine states tackled last academic year as they participated in the

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2 mins read
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Welcome to the vegan cheesesteak capital of the world

Move over, Pat’s and Geno’s. Philadelphia’s sliced-and-diced meat-and-cheese concoction faces a more sustainable, animal-friendly competitor — the vegan cheesesteak. So, where’s the “beef”? Typically, it’s thinly sliced seitan. Made from wheat, seitan was developed in China about 1,500 years ago and enjoyed by vegetarian Buddhist monks. Today, seitan has gained popularity among vegans, who do

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2 mins read
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Helping local chefs make their dreams a reality

Modern and boxy, with a silver exterior and sharp, clean edges, it’s hard to believe that Kitchen Korners in Mayfair used to be a run-of-the-mill Northeast Philadelphia garage. What’s inside is just as surprising: a state-of-the-art kitchen facility, where local entrepreneurs, caterers, food packagers and other like-minded culinary purveyors can create their products safely and

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2 mins read
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For 20 years, Weavers Way Co-op and Saul High School have grown something beautiful together

After nearly two decades, Henry Got Crops, the farm at the W.B. Saul Agricultural High School, still doesn’t turn a profit. But that doesn’t bother senior farm manager Ali Ascherio. The partnership between the school and Weavers Way Co-op pays off in other ways. The vegetable farm takes up two acres behind the school. A

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4 mins read
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Mariposa Food Co-op in West Philadelphia was founded in the 1970s as a democratic alternative to top-down corporate grocery stores. Today, some workers and member-owners say it has strayed from its mission.

Myriam Siftar cried tears of joy. It was March 2012, and she was at the grand opening of Mariposa Food Co-op’s new home, a Greek-revival style former bank building on Baltimore Avenue in West Philadelphia. (Full disclosure: This author is a member of the co-op.) For Siftar, it was the triumphant culmination of a journey

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18 mins read
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Mycopolitan Mushroom Company grows tons of fungus in North Philadelphia warehouse basement

It’s a balmy day in late August, but the Mycopolitan Mushrooms grow room feels more like a forest floor in mid-October. A thick mist sprays from the ceiling, casting a glowy haze across shelves filled with blooming oyster mushrooms, lion’s mane and a handful of other exotic species. Pennsylvania is home to the majority of

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3 mins read
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