Twenty Years at the Bean: practical activism with Kristin Russell

Southern28 SOIL

practical activism with Kristin Russell

By LeeAnna Tatum

Earlier this year, the Sentient Bean celebrated its 20th anniversary! The little cafe that is situated across the street from Forsyth Park and next door Brighter Day, is a neighborhood staple for coffee, vegetarian eats, and a little dose of practical activism!

Co-founder and owner, Kristin Russell is a passionate supporter of local food and small farms, an advocate for fair pay and a pragmatic protector of the environment. Twenty years of running a restaurant that sources almost exclusively from local producers, leaves a minimal impact on the environment and keeps prices low enough for a casual eatery has helped Kristin learn a few lessons that she is eager to share.

Kristin grew up on a small farm in Kansas. Mostly cattle were raised along with the hay and feed necessary to feed them. The family had a garden where they grew much of the produce that they ate. And the farm was the endpoint for everything that found its way there. There was no garbage pickup or local recycling bins. Food waste was composted, what could be burned was burned, glass and plastics found new purposes through her mother’s ingenuity.

SENTIENT BEAN

These two principles - connection to food sources and being responsible for finding solutions for waste - that were established during her formative years stuck with Kristin and were reaffirmed in different ways when she left the farm. They remain guiding principles in many of the business choices she makes today.

And, yes, she did leave the family farm.

For her and her sister, there was never a choice! Kristin laughs at the memory that her parents strictly forbade (kidding, not kidding) either sister to go into farming themselves or to marry a farmer! The farming life was hard and not something her parents wanted for their daughters.

So, Kristin went to college, she moved to the “big city” of Savannah and she now owns two businesses. But that small, family farm and all that it represents has never been far from her mind … or her actions.

That passion for supporting small farms informed her menu and the company ethos behind The Sentient Bean which celebrated its 20th anniversary placed on making a minimal impact on the planet and a positive impact on the community.

A high priority has always been placed on ensuring that farmers receive fair pay for their products. From coffee sourced from afar to produce sourced locally, cost was less about the bottom line and more about ensuring that the farms could make a profit too.

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But that’s not to say that Kristin isn’t concerned about making a profit herself. By not cutting costs on ingredients, she and her staff have developed creative ways of absorbing and diverting those extra expenses.

Even in those very early days when local food was especially hard to find, the menu was built around the produce they could source from local farms. As a result, they often took the “leftovers” from the farms that the higher end restaurants didn’t want. Taking less attractive produce and using it in soups and smoothies.

They also often bought up what was left at the end of the day from deliveries made to the health food grocer next door (Brighter Day which Kristin now co-owns but that didn’t happen until 2020). Once the farmers market at Forsyth Park started up, they’d buy out produce from there as well.

BRIGHTER DAY

By taking what was available, Kristin was able to save on costs while still sourcing locally and paying a fair price. She was able to do that by keeping a flexible menu and capitalizing on produce in season.

A bumper crop of broccoli meant that soups, sandwiches, salads and smoothies were extra green that week! Basil could be bought up during the summer and made into pesto to be used throughout the year. Tomatoes in season? Use some now, preserve some for later.

The casual nature of the Sentient Bean (think coffee shop / cafe), means that price points are accessible. Yet Kristin has successfully managed to balance the costs of locally sourced ingredients, fair trade coffee and environmentally friendly disposable to-go products with the kinds of prices that customers are willing to pay.

There are a few key ways that she has achieved this. First off, The Sentient Bean is a vegetarian restaurant. Not having meat on the menu in itself is a cost-saving factor. As mentioned already, sourcing quality ingredients that don’t necessarily look pretty and are plentiful is another key ingredient to the success.

Perhaps the most important piece (or I should say pieces) to the puzzle are the Bean’s customers and the personality of the place itself!

It’s the kind of place where a sign that asks customers “do you really need that straw?” is not only perfectly acceptable but also appreciated. Pay extra for a disposable cup or bring your own reusable one? Sure, why not?

Customers who frequent the Bean, whether they arrived that way or not, become aware of the thought that goes into not only the ingredients that are used to prepare the food, but also the vessels that are used to hold that food. And there is thoughtfulness in how waste from that process will be handled and the customer is invited to participate in that story, to be a part of making that difference.

In addition to using cups, straws and to-go packaging that is as earth-friendly as possible, The Bean also participates in COR Compost’s service for businesses. Compostable food waste is diverted from the landfill with the use of bins in the kitchen and now in the dining room, as well.

Materials are also recycled, including glass which

they pay extra fees to do through the private company, Lammergeier Glass, as the City of Savannah’s recycling program does not actually recycle glass.

This is one area where the business takes on added expenses, paying fees for both the composting and glass recycling services, because of the company ethos and commitment to leaving as small a footprint as possible. This is also another area where the coffee shop actually helps to educate customers and promote conversations about sustainability and responsible consumerism.

Kristin also points out that policy plays an important role in shaping business decisions. The City of Savannah has a policy for charging set rates for waste removal regardless of weight. Something as simple as providing incentives to businesses for diverting waste from the landfill through composting and recycling could help improve the participation in these otherwise voluntary and costinducing activities. This could go a long way toward reducing the amount of refuse making its way to the landfill.

In 2020, Kristin, along with partner Brad Baugh, purchased Brighter Day Natural Foods, the independent grocery/health food store next door. Kristin serves on the board of Georgia Organics and was one of the founding members of the Forsyth Farmers Market.

So, the farmgirl who wasn’t allowed to farm has instead become a champion of small farms! Kristin’s pragmatic approach to environmentalism and support of local food is fitting for someone who grew up on a farm. And we can all learn some lessons from her practical approach to making the world a better place!