Pictured above: AC Lakeside Produce Manager Michael Fernandez explaining the Zero Waste Initiative Programs to attendees.

Sitka, AK was bustling with activity on May 17 with guests and merchants alike filling the Harrigan Centennial Hall to celebrate the much-anticipated Sitka Summer Expo. Given the event’s cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic, community members and business leaders were especially eager to get in touch with one another to hear how the businesses of the region are contributing to the growth and development of Sitka’s economy.

With over 25 stalls featuring merchants from industries as diverse as tourism, restaurants and hotels, and wildlife preservation, AC Lakeside showcased its socially responsible endeavors – with an emphasis on its AC Lakeside Zero Waste Initiative.

Pictured above: The AC Lakeside store booth, displaying collages of its initiatives along with free swag, snacks, and its raffle box for a $100 store gift card.

The Zero Waste Initiative is a three-phase program that began in 2020 that has since recycled $10,000 worth of food that would otherwise have been thrown out according to retail guidelines. These food items were instead sent to various food banks, farmers and animal feeding programs. Fruits and vegetables that could not be sent to any of these organizations were put through an efficient cleaning and disposal food shredder table that helped remove organic waste in water by facilitating the growth of bacteria that would consume this waste, creating cleaner and greener waters in the area.     

Key partners in the Zero Waste Initiative are the Salvation Army Sitka’s soup kitchen, the Sitka Counseling Food Bank, the Sitka Tribe of Alaska Food Bank, the Fortress of the Bear and the Alaska Raptor Center. The Fortress of the Bear and the Alaska Raptor Center offered words of support at the convention, highlighting how the community has benefitted from the AC Lakeside waste reduction efforts.

AC Lakeside also provided reusable eco-bags that contained an Alternate Ways of Shopping brochure and food tray order forms, to encourage attendees to shop in an environmentally friendly way while also providing them something convenient to hold the rest of the swag they collected during the convention. The store also held a raffle for a $100 gift card while handing out complimentary cookies and their own set of giveaways.

Pictured above: (Left) Complimentary ACC eco-bags placed at the convention entrance for the attendees’ convenience. The Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce's Summer Expo 2021 main banner

“Relationships with our community have always been a very important component to our approach,” says AC Lakeside Branch Manager Vince Winter. “We hope to inspire even more local businesses to action – specifically to reduce food waste and alleviate hunger. For this reason, now more than ever, our team must implement our program and ensure visibility among our community, especially among our customers and employees. This visibility will help bring attention to something that can be fixed when we all do our part.”