Image: in.gredients.com

A new grocery store in Austin, in.gredients, is selling all of its goods the eco-friendly way: without packaging.

We’re not just talking about loose potatoes and peppers. The way this works is you bring your containers from home, they fill them up with with your items, you eat the items and then bring your containers back to the store on your next shopping trip. If you don’t bring your own containers, they’ll provide you with recyclable and compostable containers. The few items that come packaged are meats and dairy (which is required by local law) and eggs.

In.gredients is striving to create a zero-waste, locally-sourced, healthier way of eating. In addition to be package-free, they rely on area farmers for their inventory. Eating locally and going organic are definitely trends right now as people try to find ways to eat better and be kinder to the environment. However, price is always a concern. After all, there was a good reason why Whole Foods was nicknamed “Whole paycheck.” But even that market has tried to bring prices down.

“Bottom line, buying in bulk eliminates the cost of packaging and allows the buyer to allocate exact amounts of in.gredients to recipes / buy only how much they need – making even traditionally expensive items more approachable. We care about lowering the cost barrier to healthy, local foods, and want to make good food accessible to everyone,” in.gredients writes on its FAQ page.

With the severe drought covering a good chunk of the country, prices are expected to go up. With that in mind, many shoppers will likely opt for a lower-cost option that will keep the fridge filled and bypass items that, though a little healthier and better for the environment, will deplete their budgets.

At stores where you do find packaging, there are efforts to make the packaging more useful. Tests using a “stoplight-style color-coding system” aim to give the important dietary information in a clear and easy way. A study conducted by Massachusetts General Hospital found that the simple system coupled with greater accessibility resulted in the consumption of healthier foods. The results were equally strong among blacks, whites and Latinos.

So are you shopping with eco-friendly, organic purpose? Or are you most concerned with sticking to your grocery budget? If in.gredients came to your neighborhood, would you grab some empty containers and head on down?

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(WBOY-TV) — On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, Jeanette Lamb, 79, perused the aisles of Save-A-Lot in Buckhannon, doing her daily shopping. But, she skipped certain items that she usually would get, like the ingredients for her favorite biscuits.  ”I don’t buy [cornmeal] because the cornmeal boxes are smaller,” she said.  And Lamb isn’t imagining it; food packages really are shrinking.  ”They’re definitely reducing the amount of product they put in the package, but you’ll also see they try to make the package look just as big,” said John Lipinski, Director of West Virginia Wesleyan College’s School of Business. “So some of the games they play are they’ll make the box of cereal skinnier, so you still see the same rectangular footprint.”

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