Kenya Quio

COMMUNITY: For this eco-challenge, I select supporting businesses owned by people of color, and also because I have gone to plenty of shops around me, or I travel out to them just to try it out. I also wanted to make this post as a recommendation of places I would highly recommend supporting and trying out. For coffee, my favorite one that I tend to go to a lot is called Phin Cafe and Boba Shop. It started up in Portland by Ann, who came to Portland from Vietnam about eight years ago, and she, along with her family, runs the shop. About a year ago, they opened their second location in Beaverton, and ever since they opened, I've been there almost weekly. I'm a big fan of their iced coffee. Although it may sound odd, it tastes nothing like eggs, and it has a smooth and creamy texture.

Not too far from the coffee shop, Tan Tan Cafe and Delicatessen, is another shop founded by a Vietnamese family and is run by their daughter. I love the pho they serve here, and the spring rolls are also my favorite, along with nice and friendly customer service. Their story of immigrating to the U.S is truly inspiring and truly makes sense that their passion for flavors in food led them to create amazing tasting and authentic food in Beaverton.

Lastly, the most recent new place I tried is called Sincerely Bagel, located in Portland, which I came across to hearing about this place through Instagram, and I love bagels, so when I saw what they had to offer, I knew I had to try. This shop is Korean-owned and started by a husband and wife wanting to create Korean-inspired bagels, and the one I tried was a chili crisp bagel with cream cheese, tomato, and cucumber. It was really good, and if only I lived closer, I would be there more often. Through Instagram, the shop has gotten a lot more attention as their bagels sell out way before closing time, so if you plan to try it out, make sure to go early in the day.

After this "challenge," I realized how often I eat and shop from businesses owned by people of color, as luckily, around my neighborhood and location near work, there are many locally owned businesses. When it comes to food and drinks, it's easier for me to find shops that a POC versus finding clothing stores that aren't name brands, which I would like to work on more. Also would like to add that all the places I've mentioned have great options for vegan and gluten-free options, so everyone has a chance to try out these great places. I have attached likes to all of them and even an article from Bon Appétit sharing the incredible story of the family that started Tan Tan.

https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2025/05/this-bagel-shop-is-a-love-letter-to-its-customers-signed-sincerely-bagel.html

https://www.facebook.com/DivisionMidwayAlliance/posts/meet-ann-owner-of-phin-caphe-bobaphin-caphe-and-boba-is-a-vietnamese-family-owne/6036324666392320/

https://www.bonappetit.com/story/tan-tan-cafe-and-delicatessen-tet-lunar-new-year?srsltid=AfmBOoqk4omqcWRtff7aKH8ZzxTWoQ7u9bKDPosIFOQxOwEnAZA8fb0J

FOOD: For this eco-challenge I selected eating meatless meals/vegan meals for the day and I kept track of the meatless meals I had during the week. I selected this as a few years ago I was vegan for about 2-3 years, and I thought that the challenge would come easy to me. I ended up with difficulty as when I was vegan, I had food and other ingredients that were vegan and therefore able to eat and since I knew places like restaurants around me had limited vegan friendly foods, I stuck to making food at home a lot. Now, not living that same lifestyle anymore it was hard as I was used to eating out anywhere without having to check their menu first, or I'm able to grab whatever looks good from a grocery store without reading the ingredients list first. This made me realize as each day went by how careless I can be when it comes to eating foods and not caring for what I'm consuming but I and everyone else should be. During the week even with the meals I made at home, it was natural for me to go for a meat option as my protein or eggs which are my usual for breakfast. Then mid-way eating my meal I would realize that I went in for a meat option again. I'm more knowledgeable now with food versus when I was vegan which was in high school still and didn't fully know what foods fuel you with more energy and when I reflect on my eating habits when I was vegan, it was truly still a lot of overly processed foods. Now I try to stay away from that and truly end up craving fresh fruits and vegetables on a daily.
Places around me now also have more options that are able to be made vegetarian and vegan friendly. Living in Oregon in a way also makes this lifestyle pretty easy and depending on what kind of foods you consume, can also be cost effective especially outside of Portland.

WATER: For the water eco-challenge, I have selected using reusable water bottles and although I already have a hydro flask for water, I don't have a reusable cup for coffee. I will either buy coffee from a shop on the road which in turn, leads me with a plastic cup and aa straw. I have challenged myself to have to take a reusable coffee cup and straw as well in order to reduce waste. For a few days I was able to bring my coffee cup but forgot it one day, but I ended up not purchasing any coffee as a sort of punishment to myself for forgetting :) I have attached a photo of my daily water bottle and my glass cup which I used for coffee that I brought from home and later switched it over to infused coconut mango water.
A struggle I faced as do many others was trying to remember to grab my cup before heading out. It's normal for me to grab my hydro flask and I bring it with me everywhere I go but having to remember to grab another cup for my coffee was way harder. The more I'm able to practice remembering to bring another cup for my other drinks during the day, the more this action will be become habit. I also read a short article on "4 tips on remembering your travel cup", and one that I found practical for me was keeping my cup in my bag. I tend to carry a big bag with me pretty much on a daily therefore putting my cup in my bag and keeping it in there will be a habit I will also start to implement.
How To Remember Your Reusable Cup | Blog | Pottery For The Planet

For my second eco-challenge I decided to save energy by turning off light or any tech I was not using. I often leave lights on in my room even a candle warmer at some points and i will leave it on for days at a time. I have a LED light that I tend to leave on for a subtle light for my room and I sent reminders on my phone that just pop up as notifications to remind me to turn it off or to check if it is off. Along with that light I have a strip of lights that wrap around my desk area that I also leave on at all times except some nights.
As a couple days went by I did pretty good with reminding myself to turn them off when I don't need them or when leaving the house completely. I resorted to sunlight but since the tress block any direct sunlight my room would feel dark then I would turn on the lights if needed.
I also got my family involved since small kitchen lights or a side lamp would be kept on during the night, but we all pitched in to make sure no lights or AC were left on if not needed. So far, we all did pretty good, and no lights would remind on the next morning, and I want to keep trying to remind myself to keep my lights off along with any other lights not needed to be on in the house.

I selected carrying my trash as a way to bring awareness to myself in how must waste I can accumulate. I picked a day I wasn’t working as I tend go out and buy stuff more and I was shocked but not surprised. I bought coffee and it ended with a plastic cup and straw, picked up a snack which was wrapped in plastic, had receipts in hand and other small trash. Some I would accidentally throw away as I forgot midway I was keeping my trash with me but I’m aware of how much I collect to throw away. It’s so easy to buy and collect trash but hard to remember to keep it together to see how much only a person can produce. I tried to be aware of this challenge as in away I kept true to my day as I usually would to see for myself the trash I collect and I want I day by day produce less and less waste with small changes at time.