Q&A with Patricia Acheson, owner of The Fox Den — No Waste Cafe & Roastery
Patricia Acheson is from Indianapolis, Indiana and a Purdue University alumni who always knew she wanted to start a business. She came from a family full of entrepreneurs and she wanted to continue the legacy but did’t really know how. After her journey through the restaurant business, seeing the amount of waste that was created and learning how to roast coffee, No Waste Coffee was created and in turn, the No Waste Cafe was born as well.
Q: Can you tell me more about The Fox Den — No Waste Cafe? How are you guys waste free?
A: Well, we opened March 18, 2022 and we try are best at keeping our waste to a minimun in many different ways. In the bathroom, we have cloth napkins to reduce the use of paper towels. With food waste, we have a food cycler that turns the food into compostable powder that we can add to our garden or give out to the community. We have pretty much eliminated single use items expect for a couple things behind the desk that are required by the health department.
If people have a to go order, we ask people to bring in their own cups or borrow ours with a hold deposite. We also sell cups for to go drinks and encourage people to bring tupperware when ordering a sandwish or pastries.
We also don’t have dairy milk, not because we hate it (I believe we can still have it in moderation) but becuase it takes so much water and land to raise cattle, all of which contributes to global warming. Plus, milk isn’t suppose to be in coffee! Coffee is the pit of a fruit and it mixes better with other grains.
Last thing with our menu, we only have items that are in season and from local support. We want to work with what the seasons give us so our menu reflects that.
Q: How does being waste free fit in with being sustainable/eco-friendly?
A: The word “eco-friendly” can be tricky, alot of big companies use that word with products that aren’t really good. It’s total green washing, we see the green earth logo and assume that item is good for the environment.
It’s more about the process of how something is made and if it was made ethically. It's takes a good amount of research to figure out if an item is sustainable, which a lot of people don’t want to do.
The trick to being waste free, or at least try to be, is knowing what you have. A lot of people will stop at the store on the way home for a dinner item they are not sure if they have at home or not. This contributes to a lot of waste and it can be avoided if people knew what they have at home.
So knowing what you have at home and using it before buying more leads to less waste you create. Less trash in the landfills.
Q: Are you doing anything in the community to help educate others on being waste free?
A: I plan on it but we just opened so were more focused on trying to steady our businessnes. I do plan on eventually running some workshops like how to compost and lessen waste. Right now, we give people out compost so they can use it in their garden and hopefully people adapt some of the practices we have.
Q: What are three things that people can do to be waste free in their everyday life?
A: Well first, you need to be organized. Knowing whats in your house; the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom. This will help you from over buying things and reducing waste. Along with this, think about what you really need and only buy that.
Secondly, always have a reusable bag and a cup. Whether it staying your car or bag, always have one so you can avoid plastic and waste. It’s good to have two of each so you can have a rotation; the cup you used comes back home and you have another one in the car, then rotating them so you always have one on hand.
With this, education is huge! Doing your research on what items are sustainable and can help you reduce waste.
Third, when starting, only focus on one part of your life you know you can control and start working on figuring out how to be waste free there. This will help avoid feeling overwhelmed. When a lot of people start their journey, they try to change everything and get overwhelmed really quickly then they just quite. So only focus on one area and add more as you perfect the last.
Q: Are there any sites or places where people can get more information on waste free/sustainable items?
A: There’s this blog by Kathryn Kellogg (Going Zero Waste by Kathryn Kellogg) on zero waste and I really like her because she is really good about easing you into the world of zero waste and gives you a lot of educational information.
Another resource I love is Hygge Habit, the owner Grace McClain does extensive research on everything she allows in her store and is a great resourse. If it’s in her store, you know its good. We actually have some of her products in the cafe too.
Q: Is there something that you wish people knew about The Fox Den?
A: We are more than reusable mugs and up cycled furniture. Our coffee is only made from sustainable coffee beans that I roast myself. I use a process that uses less electricity and we reuse the chaff (the shell of the bean). We grind the chaff and use it in our compost or we send it to Green Pod Coffee Packing where they take it and compress it into rings that go into our reusable coffee pods for coffee machines, we actually have some for sale in our store.
We also support local sustainable artist and have their art on display for sale and we have a mini refill station with coffee beans, hand soap and lotion.
But that just circles back to the idea that we know where the items are coming from, how they were made and minimizing our waste, which is what it’s all about!
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add?
A: Don’t be intimidated to start! We are a judge free community and we are all learning together. I feel like Fort Collins is also really good about not being judgmental which makes starting so much easier. I don’t want to be seen as this waste free queen because I’m not! I didn’t really know much about being waste free and sustainable until I started the No Waste Cafe so I am learning along with my customers!
I just want people to understand that we are in this together and we will learn together. There are so many people willing to help, all you have to do is start.
