EARTHDAY365 EXPANDS GREEN DINING ALLIANCE PROGRAM 

Kansas City partnership with Bridging The Gap

ST. LOUIS, MO, August 2026 – The Green Dining Alliance (GDA), a nationally recognized restaurant sustainability certification program of 501c(3) non-profit earthday365, is pleased to announce a program expansion into sister-city Kansas City, MO. Through grants, partnerships and funding-matches with St. Louis Jefferson Solid Waste Management district, the MO Department of Natural Resources, ReFED, Wichita State Environmental Finance Center, the Gateway Regional Environment Fund, and the City of Kansas City, earthday365 was able to complete a multi-year process of expanding the GDA Program into the Kansas City metropolitan area and housing it within Bridging The Gap, a Kansas City-based environmental non-profit.

Green Dining Alliance Program Manager Gillian Garland says, “The whole time I have been running the GDA I have been asked when we are planning to expand since we cover such a large area of St. Louis. I’m excited to get Bridging The Gap’s team up and running so they can help KC’s thriving restaurant scene along their sustainability journey.”

Currently, the GDA operates throughout the St. Louis region, with over 100 certified restaurants and breweries which diverted 6,811 tons of waste from the landfill (13.5 million lbs) in 2025. The GDA’s mission is to increase each restaurant’s environmental sustainability through tailored strategies, workshops, and collaboration. By completing a 700-point on-site audit that evaluates all areas of operations, and setting personalized goals with each Member, this program gives restaurants the concrete tools and guidance to become more sustainable while celebrating their actions and making them more visible to sustainably-conscious consumers. 

Audit areas include Waste Diversion, Food Sourcing, Water, Energy, Chemicals, Education and Innovation. Restaurants must commit to the Core Concepts of banning styrofoam, establishing a recycling program, and phasing in energy efficient lighting. Once accepted into the program, food waste tracking is a key determination in sustaining membership. 

Bridging The Gap Executive Director Scott Wagner says, “Bridging The Gap has been leading on-the-ground, solutions-based programs toward creating a greener, more resilient Kansas City for over 30 years. Adding the Green Dining Alliance to our diverse program array allows us to work with our local food and beverage businesses to grow them sustainably and provide the public with an opportunity to recognize and support their commitment.”

According to the Kansas City Regional Food Loss & Waste Reduction Action Plan, the KC Metro area generates 296,000 tons of food waste a year, and the 2016 Johnson County Solid Waste Characterization Study showed that 22% of the waste stream was food waste. The GDA-KC Project has the potential to significantly contribute to the KC Food Wise goal of cutting the region’s landfilled food waste in half by 2030. 

For more information on Kansas City’s Green Dining Alliance Program and Bridging The Gap, please visit https://bridgingthegap.org/gdakc/. 

For more information on earthday365’s St. Louis Green Dining Alliance Program or to stay updated on this expansion, please visit https://greendiningalliance.org/ and sign up to receive our monthly newsletter.

About earthday365

earthday365 is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring and mobilizing a collaborative movement towards an equitable and environmentally sustainable St. Louis region. Through programs like the St. Louis Earth Day Festival, Green Dining Alliance, Recycling On the Go, and Environmental Justice Days of Action, earthday365 empowers local businesses, communities, and individuals to take action for the planet, every day.