Packaging from the food we eat has accounted for 31% of total municipal solid waste generated in the United States since the 90’s. This is one-third of America’s waste stream, and only 50% of it gets recycled. Not only is it clogging up landfills, but food and beverage packaging often finds its way to waterways and the ocean, where toxins leach into water, harming marine and potentially human health. In May 2016, the food industry warned consumers that 16,000+ products from 926 brands are known to have toxic chemicals such as BPA in their packaging.
While I do think the food industry needs to take responsibility for its packaging waste, I also think that as consumers, we also have a choice to make. And an alternative to food packaging waste is shopping at a bulk food store.
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First, it’s important to note that I live in a fairly small town of around 10,000 residents. The options for bulk food shopping are somewhat limited. Luckily I found an awesome local natural food store called FoodWorks Natural Market that has a bulk food section. It’s close enough to bike to, and it’s beautiful!
Need to locate a bulk store near you or if you’re traveling? Try out the Zero Waste Home bulk store locator. Most Whole Foods stores have a bulk section as well.
Here’s what’s in my bulk food store shopping bag:
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- Mason Jar (s) – I bring a couple smaller mason jars for liquids like honey, or things I’m not buying a ton of (like chocolate covered raisins or other sweets). When you go to your bulk food store, they’ll have label stickers and a scale. Place your empty jar on the scale, and write its weight on the sticker to put on your jar. They’ll subtract the weight of your jar when you go to pay.
- Simple Ecology Bags
– Way better than lugging large mason jars to the store. Just fill these bags with whatever you need—I usually use these for my oats, rice, beans, trail mix, etc. A great thing about these bags is that they have the tare weight right on the outside tag, which makes it easy for the cashier to tare your purchase. Typically, the bulk section will have small stickers where you can write the price per pound of the thing you’re buying on, and stick it on your bag for checkout.
– Way better than lugging large mason jars to the store. Just fill these bags with whatever you need—I usually use these for my oats, rice, beans, trail mix, etc. A great thing about these bags is that they have the tare weight right on the outside tag, which makes it easy for the cashier to tare your purchase. Typically, the bulk section will have small stickers where you can write the price per pound of the thing you’re buying on, and stick it on your bag for checkout.
You can buy all kinds of basic foods like oats, beans, rice, and even fun stuff like candy, trail mix, and yogurt covered pretzels. I bought short grain brown rice, chickpeas, and black beans – All of which I make in bulk at the beginning of each week so that I have stuff already prepared for lunch and dinner. I also bought bulk oats for oatmeal in the morning. And guess what? I got all this without buying or using any disposables or food packaging!
There’s also a big selection of loose leaf tea that I drink at home with my stainless steel tea diffuser (it looks like 
What I wish they had is bulk peanut butter because I’m not sure I can give up PB, so if you know a place, let me know.
If you want to start bulk food shopping, whether to save money or cut packaging waste out of your life, here are the easy steps to take:
How to Bulk Food Shop:
- Look up what bulk food options there are in your area. If you have a Whole Foods near you, they have a decent bulk food section. Otherwise, plenty of local natural food stores offer a bulk section.
- Prepare your bulk food shopping bag – I highly suggest having one reusable (I use an organic cotton tote) bag that you keep near the door and grab whenever you go food shopping. In this bag, keep a mason jar or two, as well as bulk food bags that you can buy here from Simple Ecology or on
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- Give it a trial run! Bring a friend and try different bulk items – you’d be surprised how easy it is and what you can buy in bulk.
- Store your bulk food in large mason jars when you get home – For grains and beans, I have a few large glass mason jars where I dump my bulk food bags into after going to the store. They stay fresh and make a nice display.
Other Tips:
- Plan out your meals for the week – This step is recommended because, as you know, it’s a lot easier to grocery shop when you know what you need.
- Cooking in bulk – The beauty of buying in bulk is that you can make enough food for the week in a couple of hours. For example, I usually make black beans, short grain brown rice, and chickpeas every other week so that I have enough to throw together lunches and dinners. I’ll soak the beans overnight, and then cook them on Monday. Super healthy and super easy.
In another post I’ll share some bulk recipes for cooking up food for the week in just a couple hours. In the meantime, I hope you found this helpful and will try out your local bulk food store! Use the comments section for any follow-up questions, and I’ll do my best to find an answer.
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Hey Ryan! Yes that’s a great idea, I’m always interested in the CSA options available. Would like to write a post on how to locate your closest Farmer’s Market/CSA options because I think some people just aren’t aware that that is an option. Thanks for your comment, keep doing your thing!