Why the West Coast Is Magical and More Talk About Bulk Bins
The roar of an endless blue ocean, the romance of vineyards and fine wine, the beauty of mountains so large they seem to touch the heavens.
Ahhhhhh, the West Coast.
There are so many reasons to love it, but in my opinion, one of the most endearing things about that far away land is how so many grocery stores there sell food from bulk bins.
Being from the Chicago, I never knew the wonders of West Coast grocery stores until a few months ago when I took my covered wagon to Oregon to visit to my oldest sister.
There, I experienced an awe-inspiring sight, which I shall relate to you through the following pictures:
You have to agree, it's pretty impressive. At this particular store, there were aisles and aisles of bulk bins full of anything from pasta and cereal to honey and sesame oil. It was amazing.
And it wasn't just the froofy markets that had bulk items. Even Safeway stores had them.
Reflecting on what I learned while I was in Oregon, I feel inspired to write letters to my local grocery stores again to request that they install bulk bins. Here's the letter I wrote last time.
Maybe if enough people write letters, more stores will start offering bulk bins.
After all, why should the people on the West Coast have better grocery stores than us?!?!
Ahhhhhh, the West Coast.
There are so many reasons to love it, but in my opinion, one of the most endearing things about that far away land is how so many grocery stores there sell food from bulk bins.
Being from the Chicago, I never knew the wonders of West Coast grocery stores until a few months ago when I took my covered wagon to Oregon to visit to my oldest sister.
There, I experienced an awe-inspiring sight, which I shall relate to you through the following pictures:
You have to agree, it's pretty impressive. At this particular store, there were aisles and aisles of bulk bins full of anything from pasta and cereal to honey and sesame oil. It was amazing.
And it wasn't just the froofy markets that had bulk items. Even Safeway stores had them.
Reflecting on what I learned while I was in Oregon, I feel inspired to write letters to my local grocery stores again to request that they install bulk bins. Here's the letter I wrote last time.
Maybe if enough people write letters, more stores will start offering bulk bins.
After all, why should the people on the West Coast have better grocery stores than us?!?!
Comments
I'm on the West Coast, Spokane, WA to be exact. And even for a smaller city we have excellent bulk bin options. I am so thankful for them!
I found out about your blog while researching about a plastic-less life to write an article about it, I'm also on my way to quit plastic as much as possible, so your tips are being very useful, thanks!
Eugene has tons of stores that carry bulk products that I would prefer to shop at over Market of Choice for a variety of reasons...the Kiva, Sundance, Capella to name a few.
Unfortunately, I have fewer options here in Portland where I recently moved, but I do live near the New Seasons Market in the Raliegh Hills area.
I generally steer clear of big corporate style stores, but New Seasons seems to run their company like a small business. I have heard they treat their employees very well which makes me very happy. Of course, the Saturday/Sunday tastings don't hurt either...this weekend tropical fruit. Yum!!
Beautimous pictures! Shannon
I just wanted to open up a discussion on what people are using as containers to shop bulk. I was surprised that the eco bag website mentioned in a later post didn't have options for us bulk food buyers.
I also wanted to mention that big East coast cities probably tend to stay away from bulk for pest control reasons. But they should find ways around it and get you guys& gals some bins!
Inspiring blog, by the way.
So tell me more about how this works. If I'm buying sugar, do I bring my own tupperware? Very interesting indeed. Maybe the concept will catch on in my area in a couple of years.