“How do I reduce waste while grocery shopping or ordering takeout?” is a common question that I am asked, so I’m going to share some of my favorite methods for reducing waste whether you’re shopping for your groceries to cook at home or ordering in!
1. Zero Waste Groceries
Grocery Stores
My biggest tip is to find a grocery store with a bulk section. Most health food stores (think: Whole Foods, Sprouts, Erewhon, or smaller specialty stores) have them, and lots of new bulk grocers are popping up across the globe. I suggest doing a quick Google search (something like “Bulk stores near me” to see if there are any in your area! If you’re in the United States, this Bulk Grocery Store locator is helpful, and here are some of my favorite stores to visit…
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Zero is a Black owned, online Zero Waste grocery store in California. They’re on a mission to remove single use plastics from the food system and have everything from common pantry items, to milk, to fresh produce! The founder, Zuleyka Strasner, is a huge inspiration to me.
Check out Zero
https://zerogrocery.com/
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The Wally Shop. United States only.
The Wally Shop is a 100% waste free, online shop that’s available nationwide in the United States. They have competitive pricing, use fully reusable packaging, and offer some personal care and home products too. The best part: Your Zero waste groceries are delivered straight to your door.
Check out The Wally Shop
https://thewallyshop.co/
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Precycle. East Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Precycle in New York’s first Zero Waste grocer! Here you’ll find locally sourced, package free produce, bulk food like grains, granola, nuts, oils, etc, as well as home goods. If there are no bulk groceries near you, don’t fret! Just try your best to avoid plastic at your regular grocery store by opting for items packaged in easily recyclable materials, like paper, glass, and aluminum. Another tip is to mainly shop around the perimeter of the grocery store, which is usually where you’ll usually find the fresh produce. By steering clear of the processed food, you’ll also stay away from most packaging! The farmers market is another great place to shop for food without packaging. Just remember to bring your reusable produce pages and totes!
Check out Precycle
https://www.precyclenyc.com/
If there are no bulk groceries near you, don’t fret! Just try your best to avoid plastic at your regular grocery store by opting for items packaged in easily recyclable materials, like paper, glass, and aluminum. Another tip is to mainly shop around the perimeter of the grocery store, which is usually where you’ll usually find the fresh produce. By steering clear of the processed food, you’ll also stay away from most packaging!
The farmers market is another great place to shop for food without packaging. Just remember to bring your reusable produce bags and totes!
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Grocery Shopping Essentials
Whenever I go food shopping, I always bring my essentials from Package Free: a few jars with lids for bulk items like pasta, grains, beans, and nut butter; some reusable bags to avoid using the thin, plastic produce ones, and a couple of totes to carry your groceries home—all sans plastic! Check out my Guide to Zero Waste food Shopping to see everything that I bring.
Remember: You don’t have to be fully Zero Waste to have a positive impact on the environment. Every small step, like saying “no, thank you” to a plastic bag at the grocery store, is a positive one!
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2. Grocery Delivery Services
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Ugly Produce Services
1/3 of all food produced for human consumption
is wasted each year, and a big reason for that is cosmetic “imperfections”—aka perfectly good, but ugly produce. If you’ve seen a tomato with a scar on it or a bendy looking carrot before, you know what I’m talking about. What this means though is that 1.3 billion tons of good food is lost or tossed every year. 1.3 BILLION TONS! That’s where services like Imperfect Foods, Misfits Market, and Hungry Harvest come into play. These companies purchase produce from farms that would have otherwise been thrown away due to cosmetic quirks, being off spec, or from having surplus inventory. The best part: The produce is sold to the companies at a discount, which often makes it cheaper than buying groceries from the store!
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CSA Boxes
Local
CSA (community supported agriculture) boxes are also great, low waste options for grocery services. This usually entails buying a share in a local farm, and then you’ll get a big box of fresh produce each week. Plus, they’re a great way to support local farmers! Psst. Bonus points if you research and look for local regenerative farms (learn about the benefits of regenerative agriculture on climate change!)
3. Takeout
I get it – sometimes after a long week, the last thing you want to do is grocery shop and cook for yourself. But if you opt for traditional takeout, it usually comes in plastic containers, with plastic forks, napkins, disposable menus, a brown paper bag, a plastic bag over that, and a printed receipt. Yikes. Luckily, with a little bit of effort including a phone call, some mason jars, and a little walking, you can usually get takeout without any waste or guilt. Check out this article to see how I do it!
If you’re in New York City, a great option is DeliverZero. New Yorkers throw away almost a billion takeout containers every year, and they’re trying to change that by partnering with restaurants across the city to offer reusable takeout containers, which can be returned within 6 weeks after use. Learn more about their mission and how it works here!
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What are your tips and tricks for reducing waste when you shop for food and get takeout? I’d love to know in the comments section!
