I used to think Bulk Barn only sold nuts and candy because that’s all I’d ever see in their circular ads. I live right next to one and never stepped inside. But when I decided to go zero waste, I figured I’d check out their offerings since they let you bring your own containers. I was happily surprised by what I found: organic sugar, natural granolas, fair trade coffee, dried fruits, Belgian chocolates, fresh ground peanut butter and much more. They’re now one of my favorite places to shop!
Today I had a 25% coupon so I loaded up on our favorites (rainbow bow tie pasta, caramel nut clusters and granola), some basics (corn starch, corn meal and fair trade coffee) and healthy-ish snacks for a weekend party (quinoa cheddar puffs, popped potato chips with sea salt and waffle pretzels). Total bill: $34.53 CAD!
To find a bulk store near you, try Zero Waste Home’s bulk store finder. You can filter for stores that let you bring your own containers. Happy bulk grocery shopping!
We are trying to buy what we can from the bulk food shop, but unfortunately it’s still a very new idea here, and we only have one, so it’s not cheap! I am hoping that the more people we convert the more of them there will be and so the prices will come down!
Yes, I hope so, too!
I thought my bulk store was kind of pricey at first, but then I started keeping track of the price per kg for all my pantry staples. When I went to the conventional grocery store and compared prices with weights, I found I was getting a lot more for my money (packaging can be VERY deceiving). Not sure if you’ve gone to the extent of tracking prices, but you might be pleasantly surprised to discover bulk shopping is not as expensive as you thought 🙂