Good morning! As I was packing up to go to the Concord Coop today, I realized I have never posted about my grocery shopping supplies, so I am going to share them here today. Want to learn where you can buy bulk near you? If you're in New Hampshire, check out this list, or, if you're somewhere else, this bulk store locator is a great resource.
Each week, I prepare my Coop shopping bag by placing refill containers into this green bag as we use them up, so each week's supplies are a bit different. This week we used up olive oil, honey, baking soda, oregano, and whole wheat flour, so I added those containers to the bag. I also bring a variety of containers, mesh produce bags, and reusable ziplock bags for produce, nuts, seeds, grains, etc, according to what we need for the week and/or what's on sale.
This week, I packed...
One flour tin for whole wheat flour (I buy all purpose flour in 25 pound bags)
One jar for honey
One jar for baking soda
One spice jar for oregano
One empty bottle for kombucha
One milk bottle to return (needed real milk for a recipe)
A variety of produce bags
A stack of empty yogurt containers
Extra cloth grocery bags
Today I came home with apples, onions, and sweet potatoes in my produce bags; cashews, beluga lentils (for these awesome burgers), and granola in my yogurt containers; honey, baking soda, and oregano in my jars; olive oil in my repurposed container; whole wheat flour in my tin; and kombucha for my weekly treat.
I love shopping at the Coop. I wish I could do all my shopping there, but to save money, I buy all my organic packaged goods at my local Market Basket, where I can find them much cheaper. The bulk section of the Coop, however, is a bargain. Don't be intimidated by the process. It only takes a few trips to feel like a pro! Want to learn other ways living green saves me money? Check out this post.
Happy shopping!
Hannah