13th Annual Golf Tournament

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August 18, 2010

Riverwalk Golf Course

1pm shotgun start

Details at: http://www.foodnbeverage.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 21, 2010

Contact: Michael Oshman, Green Restaurant Association, (617) 737-4425, media@dinegreen.com

Food and Beverage Association forges partnership with

The Green Restaurant Association

FBASD and GRA create partnership to proactively help San Diego’s foodservice establishments to hit solid benchmarks in sustainability

San Diego, CA – San Diego is the birthplace of the Green Restaurant® movement, which the Green Restaurant Association founded in 1990. Since then, it has grown tremendously, with some of the world’s leading restaurateurs achieving Certified Green Restaurant® status from Mario Batalis’s L.A., New York, and Vegas restaurants to Rick Bayless’ esteemed Chicago establishments. Corporate campuses, such as Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Real Networks… to University campuses such as Harvard, Northeastern, and CIA… have achieved Certified Green Restaurant® status in their dining establishments.

The movement is coming full circle with the Food and Beverage Association forging a key partnership with the Green Restaurant Association, to establish San Diego as a strong base of Certified Green Restaurant®.

“We know our members are dealing with all sorts of green issues such as rising consumer demand, packaging legislation, and rising utility costs,” says Steve Zolezzi, CEO of the Food and Beverage Association of San Diego. “The Green Restaurant Association is the world expert in greening restaurants, and we’re proud to provide this resource to our members.”

The Green Restaurant Association will be offering education content on FBASD’s website, free webinars, and discounted services to help FBASD’s members go green.

“In 1990, when I started the Green Restaurant Association in San Diego, there were no Green Restaurants® and no green business movement,” says Michael Oshman, CEO and Founder of the Green Restaurant Association. “Two decades later, we’ve begun a tipping point of restaurants all across the country becoming Certified. We are proud to begin our partnership with the Food and Beverage Association of San Diego to help our community’s restaurants operate in a more profitable and environmentally sound manner.”

About the Green Restaurant Association

2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the Green Restaurant Association’s (GRA) founding. The GRA is a national nonprofit organization that provides the only official Certified Green Restaurants® mark in the country. For two decades, the GRA has pioneered the Green Restaurant® movement and has been the leading voice within the industry encouraging restaurants to listen to consumer demand and green their operations using transparent, science-based certification standards. With their turnkey certification system, the GRA has made it easy for thousands of restaurants to become more environmentally sustainable in a profitable manner. The GRA is endorsed by scores of national environmental organizations such as Natural Resources Defense Council and Environmental Defense Fund, and esteemed trade organizations including the New York State Restaurant Association, Orange County Restaurant Association, and America Public Garden Association. The GRA is also an Energy Star partner. In 2010, CitySearch announced the GRA as its official Green Restaurant® listing partner. The GRA has been featured on CNN, NBC Nightly News, National Public Radio, and in The New York Times and The Washington Post. For more information visit http://www.dinegreen.com.

About Food and Beverage Association of San Diego

Since 1945 the Food & Beverage Association San Diego County has served the needs of the retail hospitality industry in San Diego County. The F&BA mission is to help businesses stay safe, legal and profitable through services and representation at every level of operation.

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