Alvarado Street Bakery awarded

Petaluma's Alvarado Street Bakery has been honored by two nationwide organizations for its contribution to environmental sustainability.

The bakery, a worker-owned cooperative founded in 1978, is committed to a democratic workplace and using whole grain and organic ingredients. The bakery also donates often to food banks.

"We didn't know we were green when the company started 30 years ago," says Joseph Tuck, CEO of Alvarado Street Bakery, in a press release. "We wanted to promote health through whole grains and a democratic work place. Green jobs means to me cooperation with the people and the planet, not exploitation."

The Green Jobs award was given by Green For All and the SJF Institute, two organizations that support efforts for a clean-energy economy and workplaces. Ten companies were honored by the organizations last week in a ceremony in New York City.