24 Apr Love Food, Hate Waste!
In honor of Earth Week, our 25th Anniversary, and EarthFest right around the corner, we’d like to share a dozen ways we help reduce waste (just giving ourselves a little pat on the back since we’re proud of our efforts!):
Reuse those bags! We offer a discount for use of your own bags for carrying away your groceries. But don’t stop there – skip the plastic bags in the produce aisle and opt for reusable bags for your apples, brussels sprouts, lettuce, and all the rest! We sell reusable mesh bags that are perfect for produce.
Buy in bulk: You can choose to put your bulk beans, snacks, and other goodies straight into containers you bring from home. Just ask one of our cashiers to weigh your container before you fill it. Mason jars and other leftover jars are great for this.
Buy only what you need: Speaking of bulk, buying just what you need means you’re less likely to have to throw away food down the line! We sell bulk medicinal herbs, spices, grains, beans, trail mixes, dried fruit and granola to name just a few.
Support recycled goods: Have you noticed the bathroom stalls in our Flemington location? They’re made out of milk bottles and lids, giving them a cool rainbowed-confetti look! We’ve incorporated reused material throughout the stores, diverting waste from landfill and making good use of it.
Buy in recycled bottles: We sell Eagles Peak Water. This company picks up, sanitizes, and reuses their glass bottles. When you purchase, you pay a $2 deposit for the bottle and get that refunded to you upon your bottle return to our store. The convenience of bottled water without the waste!
Use your own cup ‘o joe: Bring in your own cup for your coffee, smoothie or juice and our cafe crew will happily serve you your favorite refreshment to go. If you don’t have one yet, we recommend our Hydroflask double walled coffee containers for that java on the go experience.
Shop with better bags: If you forgot your bags today, don’t worry. Our new plastic bags are fully compostable.
Recycle your product packaging: Check out our Terracycle collection boxes. This innovative local business is finding recycling methods and uses for trash that isn’t widely recycled (check out the photos of bags made from some of our favorite product boxes!). Bring us your trash to be made into treasure! Find out more at www.terracycle.com
Buy recycled: We offer a great range of recycled paper products. Try the coffee filters, then add them to your own compost right along with the leftover grounds.
Compost: Starting your own compost pile at home is another great way to cut down on waste- plus it makes for nutrient rich dirt for your plants! All our Farm to Market Café scraps are composted, and unsaleable produce is collected by Woodlands Wildlife Refuge for their resident critters to enjoy.
Ditch disposable lunch and snack bags: Single-serving packs and plastic bags can be handy when brown bagging lunch or snacks, but they create more waste than you need. We have metal, glass, and silicone lunch container options. Check out our reusable bamboo cutlery too!
Sip through stainless steel straws: We sell stainless steel straws which are a great reusable plastic-free option. One of our next big projects is reducing plastic straw waste from our cafe.
