Monday, March 28, 2011

Top 10 Reasons Why Bulk Bin Shopping Is Awesome



  1. You avoid single use plastic bags. Duh. Especially if you bring your own cloth bags.
  2. You pay only for food. Not packaging, not marketing. Just food
  3. There's no way to hide food inflation with smaller bags and boxes.
  4. Using bulk ingredients means you are eating unprocessed and minimally processed foods, which is tons better for you than stuff that comes in boxes and cans.
  5. Scrutinizing labels with unrecognizable ingredients and frequently bogus nutrition claims becomes a thing of the past.
  6. It saves money! Bulk food is less expensive than processed, packaged food. A lot less expensive.
  7. Want to eat local? Bulk bin sections often tell you where stuff was grown, and feature local products.
  8. Bulk food is easier to carry and store. What used to take up bags and bags, and fill up cabinets now takes up a lot less space, without all the bulky boxes, trays, packaging and air filled plastic bags.
  9. Your pantry will look like a page from a Crate and Barrel catalog, with all that food in pretty glass jars.
  10. Did I mention the lack of plastic?

4 comments:

ptdlugosz said...

Would you have any recommendations when it comes to the best stores to shop bulk bin in NYC? Be it in Brooklyn or Manhattan, specifically.

Juli said...

Hi - Here is a post from a while back about NYC bulk sections: http://plasticlessnyc.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-bulk-bin-options-in-nyc.html

My favorite bulk sections in Manhattan are at the 4th Street Coop, Integral Yoga's grocery store, and the 72nd Street Fairway, upstairs. Most health food and organic stores are featuring more things in bulk these days. Last week I purchased a Groupon for Elm Health on the Upper East Side- from the website photos, they have an appealing bulk section.

Anonymous said...

its been more than a year now... what happened..? o_O

Juli said...

Anonymous- I'm still here. I took a break...Thank you for asking!