by Melissa Reiss, Purchasing Assistant
It’s April once again and as the ground warms and thaws from winter we are thinking about ways to honor and sustain the Earth that supports our life.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40% of America’s landfills are comprised of wasted food and food packaging. By shopping in bulk and purchasing only what you need, you can reduce both your food budget and your waste. Do you only need a half pound of that obscure grain for the recipe you want to make? Instead of buying a two-pound package and potentially wasting most of it, you can purchase exactly half a pound in our Bulk aisle.
A few ways to reduce packaging start in our Bulk aisle.
Equal Exchange Five Pound Bags of Coffee
Drink coffee every day? So do I. I’ve also started making my own cold brew at home.
Did you know that we sell five pounds of Fair-Trade organic coffee from Equal Exchange at all three stores? At North, you can find these on the Equal Exchange endcap. If there aren’t any on the shelf at the other stores, you can ask a staff member to see if there’s any in the back. Purchasing a five-pound bag of coffee and filling a countertop glass, ceramic, or otherwise tightly-sealed container prevents waste from the smaller prepackaged 10-12 oz bags, or using a new bulk bag.
Think of a certain item in our Bulk aisle that your family uses very often: bread flour, dried black beans, long grain brown rice? Have you considered purchasing a whole bag from us?
Tierra Farm
Tierra Farm—purveyor of fine, certified organic nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and chocolate products that grace our bulk bins—is once again leading the way in sustainability in the natural foods world. In addition to generating more than 70% of their electricity from solar panels on their upstate New York farm, they are committed to going plastic-free.
You may remember a short time when we carried their products in plastic tubs at the Co-op. They have discontinued that packaging and, when they did, they sent us a letter with their reasons. Here is an excerpt from that letter:
“...being true to our sustainability and environmental impact beliefs we can no longer utilize plastics in the packaging of our products. After exhaustive study and experimentation we have not found a suitable and sustainable packaging source to replace our plastic packaging. We can no longer play a part in polluting our earth with plastic and will continue to search for a viable, sustainable packaging solution.”
They have now upgraded to 100% compostable packaging for their retail items (please note: we do not as of yet sell their pre-packaged items at the Co-op):
“Over 100 Tierra Farm products now come in packaging that you can easily and completely compost in your backyard pile or bin. Currently, all 12oz and 3lb Tierra Farm products are packaged in certified compostable material.”
Doudlah Farms
By purchasing local goods in our Bulk aisle, you’re doubling down on the resources it takes to acquire your food—reducing the miles your food has traveled and reducing excessive packaging. In the Bulk aisle, you’ll find a variety of Doudlah Farms Organic products: dried beans, sunflower seeds, and popcorn from a local family farming on 1,700 Certified Organic acres in Evansville, Wisconsin. If you missed the March Reader article introducing the Doudlahs, you can revisit it here: willystreet.coop/march-2024/our-interview-with-lucy-mark-from-doudlah-farms-organics.
Supporting local farms, growing some of your own food, buying in large quantities of staples you use everyday—these are all ways you can celebrate our planet this Earth Day. What other ways can you think of?