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AgeSong becomes First assisted living community in the U.S. to EARN certified green RESTAURANT® MARK

Age Song | June 14 2010 | Contact: Victoria Steiner/John Lopez 510-635-4150

AgeSong becomes First assisted living community in the U.S. to EARN certified green RESTAURANT® MARK

Oakland Based Lakeside Park Celebrates Green Restaurant Certification

(Oakland, Calif.) June 14, 2010 – AgeSong, a locally managed, privately owned group of senior living communities with an integrative approach to care, has announced that its Lakeside Park residence kitchen was named a Certified Green Restaurant® by the Green Restaurant Association (GRA), a national non-profit organization that specializes in helping restaurants become more environmentally sustainable.

“The green certification exemplifies AgeSong’s commitment to creating nature-friendly, healing environments,” says Nader Shabahangi, Ph.D., founder and CEO of AgeSong. “This distinction, the first of its kind in our industry, reflects our overall commitment to respecting and preserving nature and the surrounding community, while improving the quality of services for our residents at the same time.“

As the first assisted living community to earn the GRA’s certification, AgeSong at Lakeside Park leads the trend toward adopting sustainable practices in senior living communities. To achieve certification, AgeSong exceeded the minimum of 100 points in six of seven environmental categories, by implementing the following changes:

Increasing vegan and vegetarian menu items
Using non-toxic cleaning chemicals
Implementing a full-scale recycling and composting program
Replacing plastic cutlery with a bio-based alternative made from potato starch
Sourcing napkins that are made from 100% recycled post-consumer waste
Installing energy efficient kitchen equipment and lighting

“We’re thrilled to have helped AgeSong be successful in greening their foodservice operation,” says Michael Oshman, founder and chief executive officer of the Green Restaurant Association. “We commend them for being leaders in the assisted living industry and we look forward to helping them continue to make even more environmental changes in years to come.”

About AgeSong
AgeSong is a locally managed, privately owned group of senior communities with an integrated approach to care. Established in 1995, AgeSong has five communities located throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Offering a full continuum of senior care including independent living, assisted living and forgetfulness care, AgeSong offers vibrant, beautiful surroundings, specialized programming and community integration to move beyond the traditional medical model of care. To learn more about AgeSong, visit www.agesong.com.

About the Green Restaurant Association
The Green Restaurant Association is a national non-profit 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. The GRA is endorsed by scores of national environmental organizations such as NRDC and Environmental Defense, and esteemed trade organizations including the New York State Restaurant Association, Orange County Restaurant Association, and America Public Garden Association. For more information visit www.dinegreen.com.

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