[August 2023] The Wooden Boat Food Company is Sustainable Waterloo Region’s (SWR) newest member of the Impact Network, joining as an Observing Organization!
Members of our network have invested in better understanding the impacts of their operations on environmental sustainability. They use program resources to build a culture of sustainability among employees and to engage employees as sustainability advocates while also adapting policy and reducing impact through realistic sustainability targets.
“Wooden Boat has been a pillar of the community for some time now and is well known for its commitment to sustainability and its constraint striving to do more while offering exceptional food and service,” said Tova Davidson, Executive Director of Sustainable Waterloo Region. “We are thrilled to be working with them now in our network to help them take the next step of creating meaningful measurements on their sustainability impact and reporting on how they are innovating and showing what incredible benefits sustainability brings to food service companies in our community and beyond.
Chef Thompson currently runs his pop-up-only restaurant & food manufacturing company, the Wooden Boat Food Company specializing in Vietnamese and French fare in Kitchener, Ontario. They are a small incubation and commissary rental kitchen with many eclectic food entrepreneurs specializing in local, hand-crafted, and Ontario-Made products and services. They are located on Kitchener’s historic Iron Horse Trail, where you can find farmers’ markets, small popup dinners, and other family-friendly events that are often held in Spring, Summer, and early Fall. The kitchen is currently available for rent, regionally inspected, and an incubation space, supported by 10+ years of experience in the CPG industry.
Chef is a music and culinary educator in the WRDSB, sits on the Board of Directors for the Culinary Tourism Alliance and Nutrition For Learning, and is an advisor for the Food System Roundtable of Waterloo Region. His passion for equitable access to food, sustainability in food systems, and the importance of food literacy, food education, and food security continue to drive him to do better in every facet of his work.
“We believe sustainability in today’s business environment is an essential building block for long-term success, and therefore, every decision we make starts with the question of sustainability and how our actions will affect the environment in the short and long term,“ says Thompson Tran, Executive Chef & Owner of The Wooden Boat Food Company. “We believe in localism by creating a caring community and a thriving local economy through action, active engagement, and participation through collaboration and partnerships. We are excited to be working with SWR to achieve our sustainability goals and to have the opportunity to be challenged by a supportive third party who has an incredible proven track record”.
We are thrilled to have this conscientious and forward-thinking organization join our network of organizations working towards more sustainable operations in Waterloo Region, and we can’t wait to see what their first year of membership brings.
Wooden Boat Media Relations Contact:
Thompson Tran
admin@wbfood.ca
Executive Chef & Owner, The Wooden Boat Food Company
About Sustainable Waterloo Region and the Impact Network
Sustainable Waterloo Region is a social enterprise non-profit that helps the local business community and Waterloo Region, as a whole, become more environmentally and economically sustainable, and therefore stronger.
Our Impact Network program facilitates setting goals for voluntary reduction targets in greenhouse gas emissions, water, and waste diversion and provides a customized approach to inspire action and support transformation in organizations of varying sizes and industries.
SWR Media Relations Contact:
Tova Davidson
tova.davidson@sustainablewaterlooregion.ca
Executive Director, SWR