HIGHLAND PARK, Calif. — When people think of buying groceries in bulk, most people think of Costco, but to Joseph Macrino, it defeats the purpose if you put unpackaged goods back into plastic. Co-owner of tare grocery, he feels everyone should have the option to buy products by weight as if they’re at a deli.

“So the problem we’re really trying to eliminate here is single-use,” explained Macrino. “And that can come in all sorts of ways and varieties from plastic bags, to Styrofoam food containers, rubber bands around your parsley.”

Basically everything that’s only used once, which all gets sent to landfills. Joseph and his wife thought there was a better way and since people already buy meat by the weight, they thought why not everything else?

What You Need To Know

  • tare grocery offers over 400 organic, non-GMO, sustainable and traceable products from foodstuffs to bath products

  • According to the EPA, the average American generates a half pound of plastic waste every day

  • Customers are encouraged to bring their own clean, dry, and empty containers

  • tare, Wild Terra, and Sustain LA all offer bulk and package-free options for food, herbs, and beauty products

“So we carry a wide range of products from pasta, to rices, beans, flours, granolas, olive oils, and even coffee,” said Macrino.

Offering over 400 organic, non-GMO, sustainable and traceable products, all of which are available package-free. The idea is to bring your own container, fill it up and pay for what you buy.


It’s a radical concept, but Joseph reminds us it wasn’t too long ago, people didn’t want to bring their own shopping bags. And it’s not just the customer shopping experience. His inventory fulfillment works the same way. When he needs to get more olive oil, he prefers to refill his order with previously used vessels.

“It’s not just food waste and food packaging waste,” said Macrino. “It even comes down to bath and body products or even cleaning products like your laundry soap or dish soap, all of which are easily refillable and a fraction of the price.”

Saving money, space, and the environment, it’s an attractive concept to new customer Desirae Fromayan. Her first time at tare, she’s concerned about the world she’ll leave behind.

 


“I just want to live a more sustainable life and just be a good example for my son and try to just do my part in helping out the environment as best I can,” said Fromayan.

Opening on Earth Day during the middle of a pandemic, Joseph is grateful for the community of concerned shoppers mindful of the impact plastic and cardboard have on the environment.

“I would ask you, next time you go to a typical grocery store, take apart all the waste and trash after you’ve unpackaged everything and think about how that would build up after a whole year,” challenged Macrino. “Here we can eliminate all of that.”

Reduce, recycle, and get rid of single-use waste.