For weeks, I’ve been hearing the growing buzz about Local Scoop, a new zero-waste, no-packaging food refillery in Encinitas.
Previously, I fell in love with Samantha Simone’s The Nada Shop, a plastic-free household and body care products store. My excitement grew when I heard Local Scoop had opened right next door to The Nada Shop in the Lumberyard.
Solana Beach native Katie Fletcher is a bright-eyed whole-food enthusiast who studied public health and nutrition at Yale. She is living her dream and prescribing food as medicine with this sanitary, zero-waste, package- and plastic-free storefront.
In addition to possessing a wealth of information, Fletcher has a quick smile and a story for everyone who visits her shop.
“Before I opened the store, I was already intentional that I would only use a few curated vendors, and I wanted to be clear about where the food originated,” Fletcher said. “I’ve been slowly integrating local growers and local food companies based on their choices around sustainability and corporate practices.”
Local Scoop has been welcoming customers for several months. During my visit, I was impressed with the caliber of the visitor. Outside of the casual tourist that stumbles upon the store and asks lots of questions while exploring this somewhat foreign shopping concept, others are religious about coming to the Scoop for their weekly food prep. And there are a lot of die-hard regulars.
For instance, David Steel, a local solar energy professional, is a regular at Local Scoop. Steel augments his weekly food-prepping purchases with newly-harvested nuts, grains and other local produce only found at Fletcher’s little corner shop.
“I’ve been going to Nada since they opened, and when Katie came in with her fresh, organic nuts, grains, and produce, I was ecstatic,” Steel said. “I’ve wanted this kind of store for years. I believe in creating a low carbon footprint for myself by living a plastic-free lifestyle — we don’t need to buy everything wrapped in plastics. I bring my containers in and am set for the week. I love supporting Katie and am super proud of her efforts.”
Mothers push their strollers in and grab an item that Katie has set aside for them; a runner stops in to grab a tea that was promised to them that they couldn’t wait to try and a fill-up of some trail mix for the road.
Katie is the shopkeeper, greeting her customers with the personal touch of an old-fashioned general store. There are lots of socializing and discussion about where a particular product came from and whether it will return if it’s temporarily out of supply.
As I meandered the shiny-clean containers of grains, nuts, trail mix, beans, spices, flours, sugars, baking items, teas, coffee, hummus, organic produce and even dog treats — all thoughtfully organized and accessible — I started to ask patrons what brought them here.
They were all happy to tell me why they love Local Scoop.
The day I came in, I ran into Mia Loya, a holistic nutritionist with Wellfed Warrior Network. She drove from downtown San Diego to fill her recycled bags with locally-sourced teas, tamari almonds and vegan waffle mix.
“It’s important to give our cells the least amount of toxins for optimum health,” Loya said. “I love Katie and the Local Scoop because she sources intentionally. It’s fresher to go this way versus packaging that has traveled worldwide — it’s more bio-available for our bodies when purchased this way. You are, after all, what you eat.”
According to Fletcher, raw energy bites, dried persimmons, cinnamon, grainless granola, and date coconut rolls are now the biggest sellers. Still, someone else swears by the locally-made caesar salad dressing.
No packaging equals no misleading writing on the bags. Shopping without plastic and using the traded glassware or bringing your own containers has proven to be widely accepted and applauded by those that call The Local Scoop their local market.
“I ran out of natural deodorant,” says Cecelia Hands, a local sustainability consultant. “Discovering a bulk foods store attached to Nada with a great selection of fresh pantry staples was so exciting. I especially appreciate the curated superfood wall of health food supplements. The disinfected jars they provide are great, and I can bring my collection of jars in and know they will be put to good use.
“A bulk refill store in the neighborhood is important to support the ethos of sustainability I emulate in my profession, where I spend my money, how I want to live on this planet, and how I show up in the world.”
By offering 250 items, Local Scoop makes a difference one customer at a time, creating a ripple effect and attracting consumers in droves.
“By shopping package-free, we can do our part in working towards a sustainable food system that supports the local economy and connects local communities with our food,” Fletcher said.
With a Soul On Fire for reducing plastics in our oceans and landfills, visit Local Scoop and talk to Katie for a great place to start your sustainability journey. And it’s in our own backyard. Check it out!
