Bulking Up

When Rainbow Grocery opened in San Francisco in 1975, it was run by volunteer members from an ashram who wanted to provide affordable, whole, natural foods to the community. 

















Since then, it's seen many changes in its staffing, organization, and location, but it's always good to know that you can see a bit of its history when you walk in from the 13th Street entrance, where the sign from the original store presides over the melons.

If that sign does not scream "hippies" I don't know what does.

Here are some things I love about Rainbow:

The cool mural at the front of the store,...

...the bins for donating food and children's books, recycling cork, and reusing bags,...

...the gorgeous produce section,...

...the piñatas!...

 ...the trays of fresh baked goods, like these chubby, stuffed bombolini...

...the table of cheese samples at one of the best cheese counters around (hint:  there are samples of olives at the olive bar as well),...

...the fanciful wine section...

...and the kitchen and housewares department that carries, along with all the essentials for a well-equipped kitchen, great extras like these super cute bento boxes.

But the real draw for me is the bulk section-- or sections-- of which there are several.

There are the bajillion jars of herbs, spices, and teas that greets you at the front of the store.

And there are the grain, legume, and flour bins that come with handy information about what exactly it is you're buying and how to use it because really, how often do you come across sorghum or teff?

There are buckets of peanut butter, almond butter, and hazelnut butter;  buckets of honey and miso aren't far away.

And there's even soy sauce and olive oil on tap.

And maple syrup, too!

If you need bulk nuts, fresh ravioli, dried mushrooms, vinegar, olives, cocoa powder, granola, tapioca starch, Mexican oregano, Mediterranean oregano, dried chamomile, coffee, seaweed, pesto, or even shampoo, Rainbow's your place.  And there are another several hundred items that you can buy a little or a lot of, which is great when you're not really sure if you are going to like umeboshi paste, but now you can get just a little and realize how delicious it is.

The bulk section is my favorite part about going to Rainbow, and over the years, I've learned not to go without my holy trinity of bulk shopping:  storage containers, blue painter's tape, and a fat Sharpie.

I love my labels and my containers.  Well, what I really love is how they keep my oats from spilling out all over the cart, and how they stack neatly, and how they make it possible for me to store and get easy access to them at home instead of wrestling a jumble of plastic bags and tags that are too small and squished up to read.

But please do not be misled into thinking this makes me an organized person.  It does not.

I'm happiest going to Rainbow when I have a big list to shop for, but on this day, the list was short.  You might say I was feeling light-carted. 

Or you might not.

But I can promise you this:  if I ever run into you in the bulk section, I'll let you use my tape and markers.

I'll meet you at the sunflower seed bin!