About Fuel Caf was opened in November 2004 and founded on the principles of sustainability. We define this as the balance between good environmental practices, effective business practices and being a strong community asset. We understand that compromising is necessary in order to give each of these important areas equal weight when running a business. Environmental and Social Issues: We do the majority of our business with small, local suppliers who provide organic and fairly traded products. Our fair trade, organic, locally roasted coffees include Cafe Femenino, grown by womens cooperatives in Peru; Cafe Mam, grown by cooperatives of native Mayan farmers in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico; and specialty, single origin beans from Rococo Coffee & Tea Company. Our line-caught tuna is from Pisces, a small, family run fishery and cannery in Coos Bay, OR. We compost, reuse and recycle diligently and our to-go boxes are compostable. House coffee in a ceramic mug costs less than in a paper cup, which discourages sending another cup to the landfill. Our building even has a bioswale to reroute rainwater away from the sewer system. Our Community: We strive to be a community asset to the Alberta District. Our cafe is welcoming to all people. It is a place to eat, discuss business, meet with friends or work on your computer. The diversity of our customers defines the vibrant atmosphere. We work with several non-profits to help strengthen our community, including the North Northeast Business Association, the Alberta Street Business Association, Sabin Community Development Corporation, the Community Cycling Center and Friends of the Children. We are also a member owner and sister organization of the Alberta Cooperative Grocery. Our food philosophy is Fuel For All. We want to have tasty options to meet as many dietary needs as possible. Whether you are vegan, wheat-free, gluten-free, sugar-free or an unabashed meat eater we have something tasty for you. Economics: We also need to run a profitable business and sometimes we need to make decisions that are not in line with our other values in order to meet our bottom line. We are always looking for ways to cut costs and improve efficiency. We do, after all, want to stay in business. However, we are not a high profit margin driven business so we are able to make choices that are consistent with our mission.