Purchasing your food in bulk has many wonderful benefits for both you and the planet. Take a look at the reasons below and see how shopping in bulk can help you become a more sustainable shopper and adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle (plus bulk shopping is a lot of fun and can also save your money!)
1. Reduce Waste
By shopping at bulk food shops, you willreduce both your packaging and your food waste. Buying in bulk removes the need for unnecessary packaging and single-use plastic, so you’re onlybuying theyummy food, and not the excess packaging. By making theswitch to buying in bulk, you will make adrastic impacton yourweekly household waste.Plus, it will encourage you to bemore mindful about your choicesas a consumer –a win for your pantry and a win for the planet!
2. Reduce Transport Miles
Bulk goods require less overall transportationbecause there are less packaging components that must be produced and transported before to being filled. The transportation ofbulk products is more efficientbecause they can be packed more densely on a truck in large sacks and boxes as opposed to smaller, individually packaged items (did you know that most crisp packets are actually 75% air!). Some of our wonderful suppliers are alsocompletely closed loop, meaning they reuse their delivery containers on their next deliveries, over and over again – isn’t that amazing?
3. It’s Cheaper
Generally speaking buying inbulk is cheaperthan shopping in a traditional mass supermarket because youaren’t paying for excessive packaging. Without the fancy branding that companies charge for, buying in bulk means you are getting nothing but the product – pure and simple!
4. You Can Buy Exactly How Much You Need
When you buy in bulk you can scoop outjust the right amount that you needso there isno food waste.So example, if a recipe requires 250 grams of quinoa, you can measure and buy exactly that amount – rather than getting a big kilo bag that may take up important space in your cupboard (not to mention collecting dust)!
Being able to buy in bulk also gives you the flexibility totrynew productsas you can sample small portions before investing in more. Withno minimum purchaseof anything in store, you can alsobuy small quantitiesof different items to make up recipes or mixes like your owngranolaormuesli– that means you can let your creativity shine in the kitchen!
5. Food Stays Fresher
Because you can buy exactly what you need, you can say bye to old packets of half-used products sitting in the cupboard! And instead, benefit from thefreshest produce. Popular bulk food stores like The Source have a high stock turnover, which means you are always buying the freshest products!
6. Shop Consciously
Buying in bulk helps youthink about your food wasteand theamount of packagingbeing used. And because you’re being more mindful of your consumption and waste, you’llshop more conscientiouslyeverywhere else! Even things like buying almonds in bulk and making your own almond milk caneliminate wasteful packaging. Being a mindful shopper makes amassive difference to our world.And you’ll be so inspired to spread the word and encourage family and friends tomake changesin their own behaviours and lifestyles!
7. Sustainability
The manufacture and production of materials for packaging clears trees in our forests, dumps contaminated water into our streams and uses gigantic amounts of energy resulting in huge levels of CO2 emissions being released into our atmosphere! Single useplastic is a monumental environmental threatright now as it is contaminating our world faster than ever before. Sayingno to plastic and packagingis standing up for the type of world you want to see and protect. Bulk food stores like The Source are also passionate aboutsourcingorganic produce,locally made produceandfair tradeproducts. These items are allmore sustainablein their very nature and place farless stress on the worldand the people growing and harvesting these products.
8. Get Back To Basics
In our fast paced world of today, there is a place and need to get back to basics- keeping it simple as possible and to get back to ‘The Source’. This is what shopping at bulk food stores is all about! It isshopping the old-fashioned wayandkeeping things simple. Cooking from scratch like our grandmothers used to andgetting rid of over processed and packaged productsis a truer, morerewarding and nourishingway to live.
9. It’s Personal, Fun And Interactive
The Source Bulk Foods employszero-waste enthusiasts and passionate foodiesso you can always have a chat & ask about the food you are buying. With all the new health food products on the market now it can be intimidating to know the difference between chia or quinoa, and maca powder and mesquite powder so there is someoneexperiencedin-storethat you can ask. Combine this with scooping out goodies from bulk food bins and you have aninteractive grocery shopping experience. This gives you a real relationship with your food. It is all aboutnourishing your body,caring for the planetand setting up practices in your day to day life that have apositiveandfar reaching effectson the world around you.
