Taking the Heat
Operating a bakery takes heat. Lots of it. The physics of heat work the transformations from batter and dough to a whole new product.
The challenges of working in the heat during a hot summer are always on our mind. We struggled in our former location on Grand to keep a cool space for our bakers to decorate cakes before the frosting they were working with turned to soup. Heat stress and heat exhaustion were constant worries for staff. Bread proofing was out of control with the extra warmth.
Our climate-controlled space on Nicollet now helps us manage these issues with far less stress, but summer continue to provide their challenges. Extra humidity in the air pushes the limits of our cooling system and drain pans fill quickly. Heat stress on the "hot-side" of the kitchen continues to need monitoring and hydration reminders become part of our daily routine. Out on the patio and boulevard we try to be vigilant and steward our plantings of vegetables, herbs and flowers to handle the heat as well.
August will be hot. We watch plants and animals adapt. Plants going dormant when necessary to protect their roots, animals laying low and finding shade where they can. All are soaking up any moisture available and conserving their energy while offering the bounty of their production to sustain us and themselves.
Beyond our own small hot corner, we worry about the wider heat challenge of global warming. What can we do to play a part in managing this heat stress?
Although we don't have as much control over the global climate as we do with our kitchen / bakery space, we still have ways to participate in lessening the impacts. At the barest minimum we try to acknowledge how we are adding to the warming and look for ways to reduce those behaviors.
Choosing wind-power over coal or gas to provide our electricity - and urging installation of solar panels on our building's roof to provide another alternative, renewable energy for the future.
Reducing our reach for supplies by sourcing as locally as we are able to reduce transportation costs.
Supporting improvements in transit and biking to offer alternatives for staff and customers to reach us without cars. And planning for electric charging stations to support a move to EV vehicles.
Beginning the process of planning to exchange our natural gas equipment.
Restoring the patches of soil we steward on our site, so they can capture more carbon, reduce stormwater runoff and support habitat for our pollinators.
Continuing to work for zero-waste as a goal for our business, choosing options that help us eliminate single-use plastic food wrap and encouraging use of recyclable packaging for all of our ingredients.
And supporting a larger plan that deals with climate justice and equity in order to create the kind of city that provides a vibrant, healthy life to all of our neighbors. These long-term system changes will help us reduce the burdens of pollution, violence and oppression that suck up resources that could be better spent on life-giving activities.
It is hot out there. And we can cool it down with the right strategies and investments.
We encourage you to work with your own personal space to steward it responsibly, and to be in contact with your elected leaders at city councils and the state and federal level to move climate action and equity proposals into action. In Minneapolis, we have the opportunity to pass a bold Climate and Equity Plan to invest in the strategies that can have large impacts on our city's future and the planet's warming. City by city, we can and must find the will to make changes now that will secure a livable future for the next generations.
If you haven't yet connected with a Minneapolis ward-team to share your support for climate equity efforts here in our city, do it now. You can learn more by talking with Dan at Butter, or connecting with a volunteer at mn350.org/peoples-climate-and-equity-plan/
Share your concerns with the city directly using their climate plan survey
Walk the green path along with me - I appreciate the company. It just helps me feel a bit cooler.
Dan