The Greening Of The Capitol: Very Efficient Food Service
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 01.31.08
Last week, the highly optimal Allison Rogers, invited me to survey the current state of the Greening of the Capitol. To get to the United States Capitol, I struggled out of bed, walked a couple miles to the bus stop, and then took a bus to the metro station, and then rode the metro to DC, and then walked a block to the Capitol. Upon entering, I was duly frisked by the Capitol guards, and proceeded into the building.
Allison was in effect, operating efficiently.
Karissa, our liaison, sauntered in and joined us. She took us on a tour of the dining facilities, beginning with the snack bar.
The snack bar had nutritious junk food.
We made our way to the cafeteria. They were serving Belgian dishes when I was there.
Allison deftly pointed out some locavoristic snacks.
This sign detailed the green elements of the cafeteria.
Allison swiftly acquired some coffee for sampling purposes. It was fair-traded or something...
Erin also had lunch with us. She is the newest member of the Green The Capitol.
All the cups were made of bioplastic, which I found to be quite elite. All compostable waste (including the cups, plates and cutlery) is fed into a mulching machine that transforms the material into a light green mash.
All the cutlery was made of corn or sugarcane, including the straws.
I think this was a green countertop.
I neglected to eat this tempting red cake.
Thank you Allison, Erin and Karissa for showing me the latest developments of Greening Of The Capitol.
Wow..when I worked for a lobbyist and had to be on the HIll the greenest option you had was a ceramic plate.
Good to see some work on this, nice job CAO team!
replacing Petro plastic woth Bio- plastics is a great initiative. Buying local means less transport. Who recycles the cooking oil? Can I have the contract? I won't charge much by federal standards. Thanks also for the link between less oil/fat and health. I guess you have to re-green the capital from the inside out. If I could help I willl , just let me know when the administration is filled up with idea. Ha Ha.?
As a current Hill Staffer, I absolutely love the "greening" initiative, which includes changes to office procedure and transportation in addition to the new food service. Some in the Capitol however just don't get it. The Politico found some winers who weren't happy with the situation:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0108/7888.html
Also, Republican leader John Boehner said "I like real food, Food that I can pronounce the name of." Jackass.