Visit Sweetbay’s First Environmentally Friendly Store

We thought why not create a store that is as committed to the planet as much as it is to delivering the freshest items to our customers? A store that is environmentally friendly, and committed to conserving energy and water. A store that wastes less and recycles more. A store that puts the people, planet and product first. So we did. And you can see it for yourself at our newest store in Tarpon Springs.

These changes from our traditional building methods, may help qualify this new Sweetbay Supermarket in Tarpon Springs for LEED certification. LEED is an internationally recognized certification system that measures how well a building performs in terms of energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

Planet

It’s not easy being green – but being green might just make all the difference. Built from the ground up with a commitment to the environment around it, our store is using water wisely and reducing energy use and waste.

A Precious Resource
Our low-flow toilets use reclaimed water and our faucets are low-flow as well to ensure we don’t drain our planet’s water supply.

Conservation Is in the Bag
Reusable bags that is. When you purchase one, you’ll be keeping thousands of pounds of plastic out of our landfills. Plus, you can bring in your own plastic bags and we’ll recycle them for you.

Did You Know:
Sweetbay uses 127,000,000 plastic bags annually. If we reduce usage by 25%, we can save the following annually:
272 tons of plastic
2992 barrels of oil
381 metric tons of CO2
83 passenger cars not driven for 1 year

Reducing Emissions
Riding on the Pinellas Trail? Not only do we have bike parking, but you can also fill your bike tires with air for free. There’s a PSTA bus stop outside of our store too. Plus, we’ve designated spaces in our parking lot for low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles and for carpool and vanpool.

Check to see if your car qualifies as fuel-efficient >>

Enlightened Consumers
In planning our store, we worked hard to carefully select the best solutions, trying to minimize our impact on the environment at the same time. Then we added everything a modern supermarket should have, but we made sure we included healthier choices for you, your family and the planet. From earth friendly cleaners to compact fluorescent bulbs, there are plenty of choices because every choice matters.

Product

Before a product makes it to our shelves, we think long and hard about value, variety and the environment. Is it made from sustainable ingredients? Can we find it from a local company?

We carry thousands of natural and organic products, many of them grown on local farms and delivered right to our door – that’s good for our community. We believe in fair trade and sustainable, healthy meat and seafood choices, and that’s good for our planet.

• Locally Grown
  From strawberries that arrive fresh daily from Plant City, to tomatoes, corn, and more, we look for local foods that require less transportation and are grown right here in our own state.
• Organic & Natural
  In our humble opinion, the best tasting foods are usually the ones improved upon the least. From burritos to broccoli to baby foods, we offer products that are naturally produced and minimally processed, from some of the best organic and natural brands in the world, including our very own Nature’s Place – organic and natural products and foods at down-to-earth prices.
• 100% Organic
  Every ingredient in the product was raised, harvested, and processed in an organic environment as approved and certified by the USDA.
• Organic or USDA Organic
  Item must be made of at least 95% organically produced ingredients to receive USDA seal. The remaining 5% of ingredients must be from the USDA’s approved list of nonagricultural substances or ingredients that are not available as organic.
• Natural
  Products that are made without artificial ingredients including colors, flavors, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, refined sugars, added growth hormones, antibiotics, growth-promoting drugs, MSG or nitrates/nitrites.
• Made with Organic Ingredients
  Contains at least 70% organic ingredients. Product may also list up to three of its organic ingredients or food groups.
• It’s All About Fair Trade
  When you see the fair-trade symbol on products like tea and coffee, you know they’ve been purchased at a fair price, and that the farmers, families and communities they come from continue to thrive.