Green Initiatives
In general, the green initiatives we undertake must remain cost neutral and any initial expenditures be covered by energy specific grants or funds that aren’t donor dollars. As much as we want to support all green initiatives, our primary mission is to feed as many hungry people as possible and our green programs should support our mission, not detract from it. In 2010 we began our process and have completed several green initiatives since then.
Energy
In 2010 we conducted a full energy audit of the building looking at mechanical, light and building. Several projects resulted from the audit including:
Replacement of eight of our HVAC units. Some of the units were 20+ years old and inefficient from a heating and cooling stand point. We estimate a return on investment in three years. With a typical lifespan of 15 years, these units will allow us to benefit from energy savings in years 3-15 of their lifespan.
Office and Warehouse Lighting. We replaced the lighting in the warehouse with high efficiency T5 lights and in our office space we added motion sensors to all offices.
Warehouse Insulation. To create an adequate and reliable summer and winter temperature control, we installed insulation on the ceiling of the warehouse. Additionally, we placed several large ceiling fans that quietly and efficiently keep the air moving so it pulls the warm air down in the winter and the cool air up in the summer.
Replacement of our Old Washing Machine. While this may seem insignificant, every day we wash about 12 loads of laundry including lab coats that volunteers must wear when repacking food into smaller and family/individual serving sizes. With a washing machine that uses 1/20th of the water of our old machine, we are now only doing two loads of wash a day. Plus the machine is more energy efficient and its commercial size allows for larger loads conserving water.
Installation of a Solar Panel. We now have a 5.7 KWH panel on our roof thanks to a generous donation from several different organizations. This will help supplement what we need from PNM’s grid and also earn us additional funds for each watt generated.
Waste
As one of the largest food distributors in the state, and as a business that processes a large amount of donated produce, we also produce food waste since some of the life of produce is short lived. Not only is this expensive, but a waste of landfill space.
Food Waste. We partnered with the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority who has a green waste recycling program that will accept our food waste. With significant changes to our warehouse processes, we now sort and strip the food waste from the packaging which gets baled and sold. We recycle: cardboard, all plastics, all paper, food, pallets and aluminum. We also accept separated recycling materials from several national agencies and aluminum from individuals. The money generated through this process cover any expenses in our waste management process.
Carbon Emissions
Local Buying. In the last year, we have transferred our supply purchases such as gloves, boxes, warehouse items to in-town suppliers and maintained or decreased our costs. This has the added benefit of “keeping” our dollars in our local community.
Food Purchases. Since we purchase many food items at reduced pricing, we look for sources of food from around the US at the lowest price possible. Because there are so few local food manufacturers it is difficult to purchase locally. However, we do purchase local products made in New Mexico including items such as peanut butter, pinto beans, potatoes, and eggs.
2012 Green Initiatives
Our Fleet. In 2012, we’re hoping to address a whole new aspect of our business: our fleet of vehicles. We are looking at how many miles we drive, how full our gas tanks are when trucks leave our docks, and what sort of new technologies are available that we can utilize to lower our miles per gallon. New Mexico is a large state when it comes to square miles, and as much as our trailers and tractors are on the road our fuel needs are very high. For example, every year our trucks drive about 400,000 miles which is equivalent to driving around the world 16 times. THis puts a lot of wear and tear on our vehicles. It requires more frequent maintenance, more frequent repairs and if repair costs outweight the costs of a new truck, replacement.
To address our fuel consumption, we are considering several possibilities such as tractor and trailer fairings, easier rolling tires, and software additions that intuitively informs our staff the best way to load each truck and with which product. In addition, we have embedded GPS features on our fleet so we can create the best routing system possible saving fuel and time for our drivers.
Right now we are seeking funds and support to “electrify” dock area parking spaces to load trucks at night and be ready to roll first thing in the morning.
Landscaping. The “front yard” of our facility currently has grass that utilizes a lot of water. Our plan is to xeriscape our grassed areas to reduce our water use. The planning for the space is nearing completion, and we are close to finalizing possible funding for the landscaping project. We anticipate to start the landscaping in the Spring of 2012 thanks to organizations like Keep New Mexico Beautiful and Heads Up Landscaping. If you would like to help with our landscaping project, please contact Teresa Johansen at 505.349.8897.
Expanded Recycling. We can now accept recycling from individuals and the community including aluminum cans, cardboard, white paper and books for example. To recycle aluminum cans, please utilize the bin just inside our gated dock area on the south end of our property. As long as the gate is open, we are able to take your aluminum. Generally the gate is open from 6 AM to 6 PM Monday through Friday. Please ensure the cans are clean (rinsed) and dry.
Paper and cardboard recyclable products can be brought to us between 9 AM and 1 PM. Please enter our dock area and proceed to the farthest east end of the building. At the back of our facility is a ramp into our warehouse. Staff will be there to help you unload and place into the appropriate recycling areas.
Each pound we bale and sell creates income that is folded directly back into our operations.
Thank You!
Thank you to the following organization that have helped us make this transition to becoming a greener and more efficient Food Bank:
Energy Partners
PNM Resources Foundation
Walmart Foundation
Yearout Mechanical, Inc.
Recycling Partners
Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center
Unicore
Solar Panel
Affordable Solar
Focused Energy
Schott Solar
Unirac
If you would like to be involved or have specific questions about our Green Initiatives, please contact Teresa Johansen at 505.349.8897 or teresa@rrfb.org
