More than a sixth of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States are caused by food consumption. But eating greener is now as easy as checking your smartphone.
Milkcrate is a new app created by former Penn researcher Morgan Berman that lists local Philadelphia businesses, including restaurants, clothing stores and even banks that are doing their part to operate sustainably.
The app is already available on Android and iOS. The first version is a searchable database — like a green Yelp. With nearly 2,000 sustainable businesses and resources in Philadelphia in 20 lifestyle groups listed, the app allows users to search by location, type of business and keyword.
Berman, a native of Philadelphia, wanted to make information about sustainable businesses accessible to consumers in one place, and to connect Philadelphians to the local economy.
“It started with living in West Philly and realizing that there wasn’t a central hub for ways to find eco-friendly businesses in Philadelphia,” Berman said. “The spread-out nature of this information — that was the key problem we were solving.”
She explained how the app’s focus was not merely on food, but also on energy, transportation, fashion and education. “We’re talking about a much more holistic view of living,” Berman said. She said that there are websites and apps dedicated to sustainable living but none that consolidate businesses into a directory the way Milkcrate does.
Berman confidently believes sustainability is relevant to college students. She explained the excitement of reaching out to new students at Penn, Temple and Drexel.
“They’re often coming from outside Philadelphia and living in the city for the first time,” Berman explained. “We want to be a tool that helps them acclimate themselves to the city and find the businesses and resources they need to fit their lifestyles and their values.”
“I think a lot of college students are still learning about this city and aren’t necessarily plugged into the sustainability network,” Milkcrate Director of Outreach and User Acquisition David Cornish said.
“I would say that the college demographic is one of the best in the country right now because quite frankly, they’re more conscious than people that are twice their age,” Cornish said. “Sustainability and ecosystems — these are no longer foreign terms to people, so that’s one of the things about the college demographic that I love.”
Cornish also mentioned his interest in building a small street team of interns at Penn. Milkcrate has plans to promote the app on campus in the coming weeks.
