Kelowna’s first zero waste food store had a successful opening day.
Jaye Siegmueller, owner of Farm Bound Zero Waste, with grocery store locations in Kelowna and Vernon, said the opening exceeded expectations.
READ MORE: Zero Waste Store opens in Vernon
“There place was packed all day long,” she said.
With an aim to locally sourced organic foods, the store offers fresh produce, yogurt and cheese among household items, cleaners, mason jars, steel straws and more.
READ MORE: No joke: Kelowna’s first zero-waste grocery store to open April 1
“We have a lot of things produced in B.C. that a lot of stores don’t have right now,” she said, listing organic cabbage tops, nettles, and organic oyster mushrooms.
“The term zero waste can actually be quite intimidating for people because they think it’s an all or nothing, but one of our mottos is progress over perfection. If we can take small looks and little bits at a time and look at our waste, you can make a significant impact,” she said.
She used the example of what happened in the store during opening day. The ticket machine was unable to email receipts, so a recycling bin of paper was collected.
“It’s to measure here’s how we’re doing better… it’s hanging out with your waste and finding out ways to improve,” she said.
READ MORE: Canada is one of the biggest wasters of food: report
They didn’t fill the entire bin, but used it as a learning tool by snapping a photo to show how much waste is produced by printing paper.
The most popular sales items were household products and zero waste items like steel straws and cloth bags, she said, and a total of 115 customers made a purchase April 1.
Visit the store yourself at 438 Lawrence Ave.
READ MORE: BC Ferries to switch to paper straws
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