Full Circle Turns Three: An Interview

This week, we're celebrating three years since announcing the transition from Topeka Growers Group to Full Circle Sustainability! That has us reflecting as well as looking forward—especially in light of a survey we filled out for the Community Resources Council as part of a web feature they're doing this month on Full Circle. It covers where the idea for Full Circle came from, the future we're working toward, and what we need from the community to get there. We hope you'll enjoy reading it while we take a moment to pause, reflect, and celebrate before jumping into a new season full of new adventures!

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What is Full Circle's mission?

Full Circle Sustainability is on a mission to make low-waste living easier. We work to create systems that help busy people live sustainably without spending lots of time thinking about it.

What was the initial spark or idea behind Full Circle? How did you get started?

The idea for Full Circle came about in 2019 with a conversation between co-founders Robert and Justine the very first time they met. As busy people who cared about sustainability, they connected over wanting easier access to local food and started dreaming about a “sustainability hub” with services that would make it easier to eat, shop, and live sustainably in Topeka. Robert took the first step in July 2020 when he started Topeka Growers Group, a delivery service for local groceries. In 2022, Justine became more involved with the addition of bulk soap refill. By 2023, they were ready to turn the small business into a nonprofit with a physical location that would include sustainable groceries as well as recycling, composting, community events, and education. The timing was perfect for the new nonprofit (Full Circle Sustainability) to become one of the first tenants in the CRC CARE Center @ Stout.

Who is your target audience? Who does Full Circle serve?

We want to serve everyone in Topeka and the surrounding area—especially busy people who care about the planet. We carry products—soap and groceries—that everyone needs to buy. We make it more convenient to purchase local food, and we’re the only place in Topeka you can buy liquid soaps without single-use packaging. We offer recycling and composting services that are not available anywhere else in the county and that are especially helpful for renters and people in apartments. And we host unique events (like our Fix-It Clinics) that are free to everyone.

What are some recent milestones or victories you can share?

In the past year, we have doubled our space at the CRC, installed a big walk-in cooler, and are on the cusp of hiring our first employee! More people are learning about Full Circle every day. We love when we overhear or stumble across people referencing or recommending us to other people (even when they don’t know we’re listening). That’s happening more all the time!

What is your vision for the future of Full Circle? What's one big thing you're working toward?

We have so many dreams, it’s hard to pick just one to highlight. Here are a few of them:

In the grocery realm, we believe Full Circle can play a key role in the distribution of local food throughout northeast and central Kansas by serving as a sort of food hub. This is similar to what we already do but on a much bigger scale. It would mean farmers in Great Bend could sell their products more easily in Kansas City with less work and greater transportation efficiency.

In the recycling realm, we dream about having a staffed, drive-thru recycling drop-off location that would be open during convenient hours and give people a place to recycle everything from cardboard to electronics. We would love for Shawnee County Solid Waste to run this service, but we could partner with them on the project, especially to handle aspects like TerraCycle.

In the area of composting, we have big dreams for a public drop-off or curbside pickup program for food scraps. We’ve run into some regulatory roadblocks so far but are exploring other options and won’t be giving up until better local options exist!

What is something that people misunderstand about your organization or the cause you're working on? What do you see behind the scenes that others might not?

A lot of people have the misconception that sustainability is for the “affluent”—the people who can afford to buy premium organic produce or an expensive electric car. We really try to combat that idea. Of course many of the prices at our shop are higher than what you’ll pay at Walmart. But that is the result of economic systems and pricing models that do not account for the true impact of environmental degradation, do not pay workers a living wage, subsidize industrial agriculture and petroleum, and so much more. Our farmers operate on thin margins, and so do we. Yet we want to serve people in all income ranges as best we can. We offer many free services and work to educate people on ways they can save money and live more sustainably at the same time.

What role has the CRC played in your success as an organization?

We’ve been at the CRC CARE Center @ Stout since it opened in 2023. Being at a CRC CARE Center has been instrumental to our success. The affordable rent is the reason we were able to open a physical location; without it, we would not have been able to grow beyond small-scale grocery delivery. We enjoy and benefit from the services of the receptionist and custodian, and having access to the gym, conference room, and media center has allowed us to host professional meetings and large events. (Read more about our experience with the CRC here!) 

What does Full Circle need from the community? How can people help?

When we think about how to get from where we are to where we want to be, a lot of it comes down to two things: relationships and money. And there are several ways you can help with those needs—even without spending a dollar at Full Circle. Telling others about us is one of the most helpful things you can do. You can invite us to give a presentation to your organization, introduce us to influential people or potential funders, and invite us into the room with local decision-makers or business leaders who can help us bring about the big vision we have for Topeka. Of course, if you have the means to do so, shopping at Full Circle or making a donation is so appreciated. As a relatively new (and very frugal) organization, even a small amount of financial support can go a long way! And we've recently launched a sustaining donors program, so you help out Full Circle the same way you pay for streaming services or anything else you subscribe to...with an automatic recurring donation every month. You can find all the details about that on our website.

Photo Credit: Kelly Magerkurth