A Letter Requesting Bulk Bins
Buying food from bulk bins is one of the best ways to get packaging-free foods, but unfortunately for me, it's pretty hard to find bulk foods in Chicago.In fact, the Whole Foods where I usually shop is the only store with bulk bins within a fifteen-minute drive from my house.
That's why I've written the following letter. I plan to send it out to both the local stores where I shop as well the corporate headquarters of the companies that own them.
I encourage you to write similar letters and send them out to stores in your area. If you'd like, feel free to steal ideas from my letter or to use my letter as a form for your own.
-------------------------------------------
Dear Store Manager, [or Dear (insert corporate executive name)]
The environment is really important to me, and when I go to the grocery store I always try to buy the most eco-friendly and responsible products available. For me, this translates to purchasing organic produce and additional foods with as little packaging as possible, usually sold from bulk bins.
With this in mind, I'd like to tell you that I no longer shop at your store because you do not offer food in bulk bins. Instead, I drive a few miles further to Whole Foods and purchase foods like oatmeal, cashews, and cereal from the bins there.
To be honest, though, I don't really like driving the extra miles. It's bad for the environment, and the traffic stresses me out.
Therefore, I would like to ask you to install bulk bins at your store. I know it's a lot to ask since I've heard that bulk bins can have low profit margins and are difficult to manage, but it's something that will attract customers, who will surely also buy higher margin items, to your store. Also, providing your customers with food in bulk bins is exactly the type of "green" move your company needs to be making to continue to attract customers in Chicago.
I hope you consider my request, and I look forward to seeing bulk bins in your store in the near future (and not having to drive so far to shop!).
Thanks so much.
Best,
[My Name]
Photo courtesy of Veggie Chic.
Comments
njones127 at tampabay dot rr dot com
Adding bulk bins requires the purchase of a bulk fixture, but that's actually the easy, less expensive part! The problem is finding a home for the bulk bins which often requires moving quite a bit of product in the store...an incredibly costly and time-consuming process!
However, I would still definitely encourage you and your friends to start by bugging every last management employee at a store about this issue! Also, call the companys' customer service lines! If it's a Safeway or Kroger owned grocery store, let them know that many of their stores in Oregon have bulk bins why not where you live?
Like I said, this will be an huge uphill battle due to the cost. This is why although managers have little say in what goes in the store, you want them to be able to tell someone important that, "Everyone keeps asking for bulk food!"
If you can, find a way to get the names and email addresses of people that have actual decision making authority. Make some friends with employees or ask the manager (I can help you here...I will email you...)
One letter won't do the trick...trust me here. Build an army! Lol!
BTW, do you use the Ecobags for items like oatmeal? What do you use for flour and sugar? I've been reusing plastic bags that I've had since the dawn of time for all that stuff and so far I've had no problem but I'd like to have a non-plastic alternative when those bags do finally break.
As for my Ecobags, I use them for everything, including oatmeal and the like. If I'm buying a lot of bulk bin items, I also end up putting them in old plastic grocery bags. I've still got quite a collection of those from the olden days.
I was actually surprised at how few "natural" grocery stores use bulk bins. We just got a Natural Grocers down the street and decided to check it out since it is much closer then Whole Foods but when we walked in EVERYTHING that is normally in bulk bins at whole foods was in plastic bags with hand ties so there wasn't even an option of using your own container.
But, here's my reason for discontinuing them in my store.
First - waste, customers constantly spilled and of course, I still had to pay for the contents. It always seemed they spilled the most expensive stuff. Plus cleanup - you can't leave it on the floor, you must move the bins at night to clean up under or you chance bugs or even rodents.
Second - cross contamination - customers would use the same scoop for more than one item. Also, customers would take some out, taste it, and return the rest to the container. You just can't believe what customers will taste test.
Third - in my state, CT, if bugs appeared in ONE bulk container, all adjacent containers had to be emptied, scrubbed and santized. This can result in a tremendous amount of monetary loss. Contamination, more often than not, comes within the bulk package. By prepacking, this can be avoided - contaminated product STILL in original bag could be returned for credit - much harder to do if it is in a bulk container as wholesaler can question where contamination came from.
Fourth - if an item does not sell within a specified time period, usually one month, the freshness of the product is compromised.
Instead, I prepacked product in normal amounts. I would only prepack what I felt would sell in 3-4 days, the rest was held in the back room refrigerators.
I prepacked in reusable, yes, food safe heavyweight plastic bags and requested customers reuse them. For those that brought them back, I would refill with same product while they shopped or waited.
Everyone who wants bulk bins needs to know that local/state regulations play a big part along with the monetary considerations.
Bellen
Thanks for all of the interesting information. It's always good to hear an insider's point-of-view on stuff.
I can totally see why it would be difficult for a small store to have bulk bins since they're more work and selling a large volume is required to make sure things turn over fast enough to retain freshness. Not to mention the risk of meal moths and other critters.
Still, I think large stores can probably handle these sorts of problems. After all, they do it all over the West coast so why can't they do it everywhere? I think it just comes down to whether or not people demand it.
People, let's demand it!
Maybe you could be interested by a recent blog on biodegradable plastics and biobased materials at :
http://biopol.free.fr
:-)
They're made of rip-stop nylon, so the finer items like sugar or flour don't seep through the weave like in a cloth bag.
You could also reuse your plastic bags until they develop holes...
might , probably curious to know how one can manage to receive high yields .
There is no initial capital needed You may commense to receive yields with as small sum of money as 20-100 dollars.
AimTrust is what you haven`t ever dreamt of such a chance to become rich
The firm incorporates an offshore structure with advanced asset management technologies in production and delivery of pipes for oil and gas.
It is based in Panama with structures around the world.
Do you want to become really rich in short time?
That`s your choice That`s what you desire!
I`m happy and lucky, I began to get real money with the help of this company,
and I invite you to do the same. It`s all about how to select a correct partner who uses your savings in a right way - that`s AimTrust!.
I earn US$2,000 per day, and my first deposit was 1 grand only!
It`s easy to start , just click this link http://hinizihazu.lookseekpages.com/kolaci.html
and lucky you`re! Let`s take this option together to feel the smell of real money