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Our first stop on the grocery store tour this week is the produce department. Most fruits and vegetables come in their own natural packaging so why has it become the norm to package it up? Bananas, apples, squash, tomatoes, peppers. Why do these things need to be shrink wrapped in plastic? The answer is that they don’t!!!
Today’s challenge: Buy at least one naked item from the produce department. To start, when you are at the grocery store this week, pay attention to how the produce is presented. Is it shrink wrapped or sealed in a plastic bag? Is it in a plastic clam shell? Find one or two things that you usually would purchase in plastic, and see if there is a non-plastic version that you can buy. Ignore the roll of plastic produce bags and place your items directly into your cart. If you are concerned about germs, then use a cotton produce bag of your own. Many come with a tare weight printed right on the bag for the cashier so that you don’t pay for the weight of the bag. Do your best here based on what is available to you. Does your grocery store sell “naked” produce?
Muslin and mesh produce bags
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I use cotton bags, and have YET to have a cashier know how to take off for the weight. In general, I don’t worry about it, or I send them through the line, then put them in the bags.
Oh bummer! My regular grocery store knows me and my usual habits and doesn’t bat an eye anymore. They are great! It is awesome that you continue to push forward and use your own bags. I hope you don’t get discouraged. Who knows, maybe your brief moment trying to educate the cashier will inspire them or the person behind you to bring their own 🤷 but yes, you can just wait to bag until they ring it up or ask them to remove items from the bag before weighing. It also helps to make sure the tare weight on your bag is in the same units as the scale that is used. For example if it weighs your broccoli in pounds, then make sure the bag weight in pounds is clearly marked. I have a couple of bags labeled in grams and had to convert to pounds myself and write it on the tag.