FRESH NEWS

There’s Lots to Feel Green About at Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes

How does Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes try and be a “green restaurant?” Read on to find out what we’ve done!

  • Upgrading to high-efficiency spray valves
  • Installing energy-efficient lighting
  • Employing faucet aerators
  • Implementing the use of energy-efficient ice machines
  • Using Green Seal-certified cleaning products
  • Utilizing recyclable glass, paper, aluminum, and cardboard packaging instead of Styrofoam
  • Purchasing organic, vegetarian, and vegan products which put less strain on the environment
  • Implementing a recycling and composting program

Each year, we estimate that these, and other efforts, are helping to save:

  • 2.1 million pounds of wasted paper
  • 7.5 million gallons of water
  •  4.4 million kilowatts of energy
  • 3,194 cubic yards of landfill space

Help us continue our effort to stay green by doing your part! Remember that research has shown that some restaurants report wasted food as up to 25% of what was ordered, so be mindful with how much food you put on your plate!

24 thoughts on “There’s Lots to Feel Green About at Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes”

  1. Halogen lighting used at the local Sweet Tomatoes is not very efficient compared to LED or CFL lighting.

  2. Will you have organic vegetables and fruits…. whole wheat organic breads?

    Thank you our family enjoys souplantation very much. Thanks for all you promos, coupons too. Our neighbor is starting to like this place also!!

  3. Thank you for the consistency of your restaurant food quality, and your ongoing outreach to customers.

    S&ST is a fun place to visit, and we do appreciate the discount coupons!

    I must compliment your Desert Ridge (North Phoenix) restaurant beyond the great food.

    The employees – particularly the table stewards – have always been delightful and efficient, treating us as if we were guests at their own homes! That’s rare in today’s world, even more rare when dining in a budget-friendly eatery.

  4. As a vegetarian and now almost always vegan, I used to like dining out at your restaurants here in the Long Beach, CA area. However in the past few months I have quit doing so because I now insist on knowing that my food is non-GMO and indeed is organic.

    Please don’t bother me with generalities about healthy food. Instead please inform me as to specifically what are the organic foods – including vegan protein sources – that I can reliably expect (without having to make special advance request) were I to drop in to dine at one or another of your restaurants.

    1. Hi Joe. In general, all of our fresh produce is GMO free. However, we currently don’t promote or guarantee it at this time, as we occasionally make vendor substitutions from time to time based on product availability and seasonality. We can tell you that we always strive to provide the highest quality of produce and ingredients in our restaurants. In fact, we ask all our growers and suppliers to provide us with a complete specification sheet for every ingredient that we purchase to ensure that we are always giving our guests the freshest and safest food possible. Our location managers also have ingredient lists of all our menu items if you ever have any other questions.

    2. Hi Joe – I need to check their ingredient list too. FYI – their pickles are not organic (they are colored with artificial yellow dyes made from petroleum) as is the macaroni & cheese that is made with a processed cheese powder (again with yellow dye). They may seem like a good choice, but as you say, until there’s certification you can’t be sure. They still have a lot of questionable ingredients.

      1. Hi Val – All of our store managers have a full list of what goes into our menu items if you are ever curious.

  5. We go to Sweet Tomatoes about once a week, love the soups and the whole grain bread. you could add at least one more dessert to go with the nonfat yogurt. Everything is wonderful all the salads are very fresh. Also love the coupons. Thanks

  6. I agree with Joe Weinstein and Triudy. We cannot consider eating at Soup Plantation until we are guaranteed that we are eating non GMO foods. You mention that you are going to be serving organic. What exactly is organic in your restaurants. Eating healthy does not mean eating any salad. The salads need to be organic and veggies need to be non GMO. You guarantee it and you will have a lot more customers eating at your restaurants. It’s definitely worth paying a bit more for certified organic. Keep out the pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. They kill people.

    1. Hi JUJU -In general, all of our fresh produce is GMO free. However, we currently don’t promote or guarantee it at this time, as we occasionally make vendor substitutions from time to time based on product availability and seasonality. We can tell you that we always strive to provide the highest quality of produce and ingredients in our restaurants. In fact, we ask all our growers and suppliers to provide us with a complete specification sheet for every ingredient that we purchase to ensure that we are always giving our guests the freshest and safest food possible. Thank you for your feedback, we continually strive to meet and exceed expectations.

      1. admin, please communicate to your bosses to stop cutting corners and making vendor substitutions that sell GMO produce. actions matter, certifications matter, but words do not. Too many companies lie for it to be wise to take them at their word. I will only eat at your establishment if it is certified as GMO-free. Furthermore, I will be much more enthused to eat there if there are items that are labeled as certified organic.

        1. Thank you for your feedback, Kevin. We are continuing to try and improve our offerings on a day by day basis and will continue to do so based on our guests’ input 🙂

  7. How about posting and bragging about organic ingredients and non-GMO at your restaurants or here online . At least you are making an effort and it will show ; otherwise many people will stop going as awareness increases of the need to be aware of(or ability to make intelligent) choices. How about some salads that are all organic and posted as that as a start.

    1. Hi Gail – Although we strive to provide organic and GMO produce, we do not currently guarantee or promote it at this time, as we occasionally must make vendor substitutions based on availability and seasonality. We continue to strive to provide the highest quality produce and ingredients and ask all our growers and suppliers to provide us with a complete specification sheet for every ingredient that we purchase to ensure that we are always giving our guests the freshest and safest food possible.

  8. Unfortunately for the admin and for Souplantation and for all of us for that matter, all I hear is the same thing over and over from the admin. Read between the lines. They are not saying NO to GMO. And they are rarely if ever organic or so it looks to me. Even in the comment above by admin. “Although we strive to provide organic and GMO produce” I’m sure that was a slip but I am also sure that is closer to the truth than not.

    1. Hi Nuel – Yes, unfortunately at this time we do occasionally make substitutions in our normal purchasing process which is why we are unable to currently promote and promise that all of our offerings are GMO free and organic. We do make the promise that we are always trying to continually improve our offerings and appreciate all of your feedback.

  9. The GMO issue is becoming more important to more people, VERY important to me. I understand needing to substitute, but when you don’t have access to a particular safe food, you just don’t eat it or use it. I appreciate that most of your produce is GMO-free, but what about the ingredients in your prepared foods? I already have children living with endocrine and autoimmune diseases, so eating foods that threaten that further is just not an option. The other issue is the fact that you only offer a single gluten-free bead item and only periodically. After offering it, the leftover mix was made and packaged FOR SALE at an additional price, essentially taking advantage of people in an already difficult situation. If you have the product available, why would you charge EXTRA for it sometimes, instead of providing at least one option, especially when people with Celiac Disease already pay the full price for only a fraction of the available menu items as it is? Why does ST feel the need to take advantage of people, in my case, children, like that? You used to be our favorite go-to restaurant, but these are fairly serious issues, and they require more than the stock response I see cut and pasted into others’ comments.

    1. Hi Amanda – We thank you for your feedback and will continue to do our best to meet all of the needs of our various guests. We are actually testing a variety of gluten-free muffin flavors, which is why they are currently on rotation. We do hope you stop in to try the others :).

  10. Our family usually has dinner at Sweet tomatoes a couple of days a month, and we really appreciate the healthier choices you provide. We particularly enjoys the salads and soups. Unfortunately, you guys don’t guarantee that your food is GMO-free. That is a big problem and I will definitely have to rethink where we spend our money.

    1. We understand your position, Paula. We are continually trying to do our best to bring you and your family the highest quality food and will continue to do so.

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