Takeout 25: Green Dining Hub
Illinois’ first Green Dining Hub set for launch on September 9th at BarrieFest
Takeout 25 has partnered with the Illinois Green Business Association (IGBA) to seize the opportunity to form Illinois’ first ever “Green Dining District” in the Oak Park area. The Urbana-Champaign based organization is funding the local program through grants and has ambitions to grow this first effort into a state-wide program.
The efforts are led by Ravi Parakkat, founder of Takeout 25 and a current village trustee, as well as Cassie Carroll, director and co-founder of IGBA in an attempt to build the state’s first sustainable restaurant eco-system. While IGBA’s program for Takeout 25 restaurants will be modeled after green dining districts located in St. Louis and Reno, the Oak Park area program will be built from the ground up with considerable input from restaurant owners.
Carroll is completing on-site assessments in a multitude of Oak Park area restaurants looking for items such as volume, production style, energy consumption, water use and waste. Carroll is eager to amplify the good decisions local restaurants are already making and build upon those successes.
One part of our Green DIning Hub program is educating the community about green dining through our Community Ambassador volunteers. If you’re interested in becoming a volunteer and supporting local restaurants in their sustainability endeavors, see the Community Ambassador blurb at the bottom of the page.
While this effort naturally centers around Oak Park, Takeout 25 does not want to exclude any restaurants affiliated with Takeout 25 from participating in the green dining program. We are aiming for 25% of Takeout 25 affiliated restaurants to become part of the program to officially become a “green dining district.” The program could expand naturally from there.
Takeout 25 is excited to execute the program in a “commercially responsible” manner that has value for restaurants in Oak Park, River Forest and surrounding communities. Participation will be voluntary and restaurants opting into the program will be subject to annual assessments to ensure they are meeting program requirements.
Launching this summer!
Community Ambassadors
Community Ambassadors are a collective of sustainably-minded individuals within Oak Park and neighboring communities who promote and educate about the Green Dining Hub community of restaurants.
By dedicating a maximum of 5 hours a month to having conversations/posting about green dining in the region, you will help us in our goal of becoming the first Green Dining Hub in Illinois.
Why should I join?
🌟 Support local businesses in their efforts to become greener.
🌟 Increase visibility and network with other individuals in the green business sphere.
🌟 Connect with a community of like-minded individuals: the chance to network with local organizations interested in sustainability and climate crisis solutions.
🌟 Gain meaningful volunteer experience.
What are the criteria for joining?
We’d like our ambassadors to be people who are passionate about food, sustainability and have a positive outlook on building and developing a sustainable community.
We also would like you to live in the Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park, Berwyn, Austin/Galewood, or Elmwood Park communities.
Further, a willingness to share information with your community verbally, digitally, through social media platforms, or in other ways is a must.
Finally, we’d prefer if you have personal involvement in local sustainability efforts to maximize outreach.
