Ways To Be More Sustainable: Grocery Shopping

-Shop local-

Shop at the farmers market or at the little boutique your neighbor has in her spare bedroom. These are the places that manufacture their stuff locally and that don’t mass produce things. This may be more expensive, but often times it is better quality, more unique, and supporting your neighbors. Remember that when you buy something locally, you are paying for that product and paying for that person to put food on their table; not for some rich guy to buy another car. Shop at places that make/grow their own products. This reduces greenhouse gases emitted from ships, planes, trains and trucks.

-Bring your own reusable grocery bags-

FACTS:

- In 2008, a sperm whale was found beached in California. It died due to the more than 22 kilos of plastic found in its stomach.

- Plastic will only start degrading after 700 years and will only fully degrade in 1000 years. This means that all the plastic that has ever been produced has not degraded yet.

- An average family will use 60 plastic bags on four visits to the supermarket.

- Plastic will NEVER biodegrade, it will only degrade, which means that it will just break down into tiny plastic pieces that end up in our water, food, and so many more unwanted places

- Plastic bags cause the death of many marine animals when they are mistaken for food.

- In the North Pacific Ocean, there are 6x more plastic debris than plankton.

- Plastic bags are produced using petroleum, natural gas and other chemicals. Its production is toxic to the environment.

- Plastic bags are so lightweight and aerodynamic, that even if we dispose of them properly, they can escape with the wind.

I really like these ones from Amazon because they are super cute and they fold up very easily and very small. The only thing I don’t like is that they kind of look like a pad when they fold up so when people see them they probably assume I use super maxi pads with stars on them….

-Bring your own reusable produce bags-

I want to try these out from Amazon, but have not bought them yet. You could also just use a reusable shopping bag or a mason jar or even just a basket of some sorts - especially if they don’t need to be weighed.

-Shop in bulk-

My roommate/good friend made me go to this bulk store in Salt Lake City, UT called Hello Bulk, it was so cute!! It had a wide selection of products in bulk and many of them we’re vegan! Bring your own mason jars and pack ‘em full of goodies!

You could also just shop at Costco or even just buy the bigger bag/box. Instead of buying the 12 oz jar of peanut butter, go for the 4 lb jar like Dominick and I did!

-Buy only what you need-

Don’t be like me and buy 20 blankets, you only need one.

-Go to the farmers market-

The Salt Lake Farmers Market starts June 8th! Every Saturday 8am-2pm Pioneer Park!! I LOVE the farmers market, you can fill all your mason jars and produce bags with yummy potatoes, apples and oranges, and fruits and veggies you’ve never even heard of! You can also pick up some beautiful flowers for grandma and take an awesome picture for your insta!