Blog

“Food is often overlooked as to how massively important it is to human health, environmental sustainability while if done right also presents a great economic opportunity. What you eat really can make a difference… in your health, your longevity and that of the planet and the communities we live and work in.” Eoin Cluskey

Bread 41 is in the process of opening another location in Greystones and we are hoping to help define future hospitality and with forward thinking yet mindful of the past bakery concepts, through a deep commitment to environmental and social change. We started our business in 2018 and this is our second bakery with more planned in the future. We have a clear vision and we want everyone to get back to eating real bread and enjoying the benefits of using the wholegrain. Real bread as defined is made with just 3 ingredients and in our case, freshly milled organic flour, salt and water. We as a business make mindful business decisions that connect the environmental impact, the prosperity of team members, customers, and suppliers as well as the enrichment of the communities we live and work in. We believe in our Greystones bakery we hope to create a new concept that inspires change by providing an innovative experience that meets the mind, enlivens the spirit and sets the standard around a zero-waste ethos that we hope will become the norm in years to come.

The plan is to use our Greystones facility as a testing space for future zero waste initiatives and to attempt the virtuous concept of driving to zero waste. To avoid excessive packaging, we will be making everything we can from scratch, milling local organic grains onsite will become pivotal to this bakery concept. Going back to the future with preindustrial food systems where everything is sourced directly from the farmer whereby, we avoid the processing and packaging that goes into traditional distribution. Direct to farm means fresh, more favourable and real food from the get go. Getting things from nature in the way nature intended, food from the farm is real. Real food is better for you and also tastes better.

Zero Waste is the future of food. This is not some utopian delight, but the reality we all need to wake up to now. We as businesses must be held responsible for the amount of waste we are creating. Doing things properly will be a compromise, as it will mean costs all round, paying farmers accordingly to ensure they remain custodians of the land. We will only be using Organic grains with a strong focus on wholegrain and the benefits that goes with it and there is a great opportunity now for Irish farmers to shift to growing organic as we currently languish towards the bottom of the European league table with only 1.8% of Irish farms being organic. It is now time to support our farmers as they are the real custodians of the land and our food.

At this point in time, the Irish landfill statistics are frightful. 30% of food goes to landfill, 80% of compostable coffee cups end up in landfill, and 80% of plastic waste is going to landfill. This highlights only three of the primary materials of the industrial food system and that is the point we are trying to make, this cannot continue.  Ireland is producing the highest volume of plastic waste per person in the EU, while having the fourth worst recycling rate for the material, European statistics have shown. It is time for change, for good and for the good and Bread 41 will be taking ownership of every material that enters our business. We will eliminate single use waste where we can and we will be moving towards zero waste in everything we do in this exciting new project. We are clearly aligned with the UN SDG’s notably 12 around responsible consumption and production.

Bread 41 Deliverables in New Bakery Greystones.

• Solar Panel Installation onsite to contribute toward energy consumption
• Only renewable energy sources used for balance of energy requirements.
• Eco low energy ovens installed.
• Food driers to be used to eliminate food waste.
• Pickling and fermenting of all left over vegetables to be used at a later date.
• Eco friendly products used in any reconstruction efforts.
• Zero single use waste tolerance
• Freshly milling flour onsite and only using organic products where possible
• Values and vision aligned around sustainability
• Sourcing directly from organic farmers where possible.
• All fruits, vegetables will be received in reusable crates.
• All dry ingredients will be stored in bulk containers
• Coffee and tea received in compostable containers.
• Botanical drinks, such as Kombucha and Kefir produced locally
• Fermented foods created and used
• Biodegradable packaging arrangements to be made with all suppliers
• Bottles only onsite
• Zero plastic or single use packaging used
• Relevant technology and metrics to support our move to zero.
• Support like minded suppliers. i.e Mc Nallys Farm and others.