Green Tip Tuesday – Reusable Produce Bags

This week’s tip isn’t really as much of a tip as a reminder. We all know we should be using reusable shopping bags. Even if you don’t purchase them, you can find a lot of free ones out there – I got a variety this summer at different Music-in-the-Park festivals and farmer’s markets. Even if you haven’t gotten any free ones, you can still reuse the sacks you’re given in the store or at the very least recycle them after use.

I’ve gotten pretty good at using my reusable bags. When I first committed to using them, I would forget them a lot. They would usually be at home when I needed them in the car, etc. Now I have them in both cars and I even have some in my office at work (for when I go the farmer’s market). The one thing I haven’t been very good at is reusing produce bags.

It’s easier at the farmer’s market as you can always ask for no bag. The local downtown San Jose market actually did away with all plastic bags this year after giving away reusable bags at the beginning of the season. Aside from the farmer’s market, we get a lot of our fruits and vegetables by delivery from Farm Fresh to You. Every other week they deliver to our house a box of local, organic fruits and vegetables. Everything is always fresh and delicious. I love that they include recipes and information on farm tours too.

That being said, sometimes when I’m actually in the grocery store, I see fresh beauties that I can’t resist and need to take home with me. It’s at these moments that I typically have not remembered to bring back the produce bags I’ve used before. While there are some things you don’t need to bag, there are some you do – as in a group of fresh fall apples that will need to be weighed together to be priced and then carried home to become a delicious pie. This is why I started looking in to reusable produce bags. I was honestly surprised at how many options there are out there!

I found 53 options after searching for them on Amazon alone.

So, I’d like to know if anyone is using a particular brand or kind they like or, have you tried any you don’t like, so I can make an educated decision?

Thanks for the help,
~Lita