We all need to go to the grocery store, so let’s work on making our visits more sustainable. When we hear “sustainable grocery shopping,” our brains can immediately jump to thoughts of zero-waste living, or mason jar exclusive packaging. But living environmental-ish doesn’t have to be all or nothing. We’re here to support you in taking the first step to a greener grocery shop. Here are 5 ideas to get you started on your path to food sustainability!
1. Bring Your Own Reusable Produce And Grocery Bags
160,000 plastic bags are used around the world every second! These bags end up in the landfill or as litter, and often find their way into the ocean. We can all do our part to lower the amount of plastic bags used by using reusable produce and grocery bags. A tip from us at tentree: keep a few reusable bags in the car. We all know they are easy to forget at home!
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2. Avoid Buying Out Of Season Produce
We know it can be tricky to say no to a fresh mango or avocado, but we can all do our part to cut down on consuming out of season food that increases our food miles and our carbon footprint. It doesn’t mean you have to totally cut out exotic produce — enjoying it in moderation can go a long way. Feel like trying something new? One way to get our favourite fruits and veggies that are out of season is to try canning your favourite fruit and veggies when they’re in season.
3. Only Buy What You Can Eat
Have you ever walked out of the grocery store with (reusable) bags overflowing bunch of things that weren’t on your list? Or maybe you hate going to the grocery store, and would rather stock up in one trip. We know the feeling, and there’s nothing wrong with grabbing some fun extras — the issue is when we can’t eat everything we bought and it ends up in the trash by the end of the week.
About 2.2 million tonnes of edible food is wasted in Canada everyday, so let’s all be part of the solution and reduce our food waste. We can all start to cut down our waste by creating a shopping list with the amount of each item we want and trying our best to stick to it, along with spacing out regular visits to the grocery store.
4. Buy From Local Farmers
Who doesn’t love buying local? Not only is this an earth-first approach to eating, but we can also support our community. Look into buying directly from local farms, find grocery stores that sell local goods, wander through farmers markets or sign up for a produce co-op.
5. Buy In Bulk
Buying non-perishable foods in bulk is a great way to reduce our plastic consumption. Buying in bulk reduces packaging, and some bulk food stores even allow customers to bring their own reusable containers. It also means less travel to the grocery store and you only have to buy what you need.
Follow these five tips for sustainable grocery shopping, and see your small actions add up to big change for the planet.
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By planting ten trees for every item you purchase, it’s our mission to plant 1 billion trees by 2030. Head to our website to learn more and begin your planting journey with 10% off.
