By Megan Barber, Wellness Buyer, Co-op Owner
From allspice to vitamin C powder and organic cane sugar to papaya spears, we can help meet your bulk needs. GreenTree carries an amazing array of bulk herbs, spices, teas, flours, sugars, dried fruit, legumes, rice, seeds, nuts, and so much more!
In honor of National Bulk Foods Week (October 11th-17th), GreenTree has put together some great sales to help celebrate: All bulk items will be 10% off all week long, except for the following items, which will be 20% off: Organic Cinnamon Powder, Organic Cumin Powder, No-Chicken Broth powder, Black Peppercorns, Garlic Salt, Comfrey Leaf, Whole Cinnamon Sticks, Organic Chili Powder Blend, Organic Gunpowder Green Tea, and Organic Turmeric Root powder.
Buying in bulk doesn’t mean that you must buy vast quantities of one item. It means that you can purchase a teaspoon of five-spice powder, or 10 pounds of organic coffee! Bulk items are often more aromatic and brighter in color because they are typically less processed than their packaged counterparts. Our bulk items are also popular, and have a quick turnover, meaning that customers are getting fresher product all the time. Keep in mind, items like the bottle of oregano in the back of your cupboard, handed down from your great grandmother, is probably a little stale. Why not try buying fresh spices from the bulk department to maximize the flavor and quality of your food!
Shopping the bulk aisle means less packaging ending up in landfills, less overall transportation to consumers, and huge savings for customers. On average, bulk products are 89% less costly than their packaged counterparts! Those savings really add up!
It may seem strange at first, but don’t let the thought of buying bulk intimidate you. Anyone can do it, whether you want to start small, or dive right in! Our bulk department is set up so you can portion the items yourself, with a few exceptions of prepackaged items for your convenience. (Mostly dried fruits that are too sticky to scoop from bins.) It is self-serve, unless you request assistance, which we are more than happy to provide for you! It’s simple to use bulk once you understand the process:
1. Bring in a container of any kind, use a free bag, or buy a jar in the store.
2. Have your empty container weighed at the front counter so you aren’t paying for the weight of the jar!
3. Fill the jar or bag with product, taking as little or as much as you need.
4. Write down the four digit PLU number found on the bulk container so staff can ring your purchases up quickly and easily.
5. Take home your bulk confections and ingredients to enjoy!
Besides the convenience, there are other reasons to shop bulk. Check out these statistics:
- If all Americans purchased coffee in bulk for one week, 5,000,000 pounds of foil packaging would be saved from landfills.
- Not a coffee drinker? How about this: If all American families bought peanut butter from bulk bins for one week, 14,403,350 pounds of waste would be saved from landfills.
- Not a peanut butter fan? If Americans purchased their oatmeal from bulk for one week, it would reduce the amount of packaging waste by 125%.
Remember, if we don’t carry exactly what you’re looking for in the store, we can often order the product you’re looking for from one of our vendors. Give us a call, send an email to reeva@greentree.coop or megan@greentree.coop, or stop in and talk to us any day of the week from 8am to 9pm! We’d love to hear from you!
You can find more information on the benefits of buying bulk at Bulk is Green Council, or Frontier Co-op.