This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with René Morrell. It has been edited for length and clarity.
Even with the nuances in our experiences, my roommates and I were all raised in households emphasizing the importance of community and resource sharing.
This common value, which we’ve maintained as important in our adult lives, allows us to share our food and other resources in a cooperative and communal way.
My roommates and I started sharing our bulk groceries around 2018, but my journey with sharing bulk groceries began even earlier. A couple of years ago, I worked for a nonprofit, and during my time there, I started a program where we gave food to families in bulk. That experience really piqued my interest in implementing bulk grocery sharing in my own home.
We may have different titles, but we’re all creatives
I’m a creative with a somewhat split life between the food service industry and the art world. I work as a server in Chicago, where I was born and raised and still live. In 2023, I graduated with a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
My two roommates are fellow creatives, and we knew each other before moving in together. One of my roommates is a fashion designer, and I actually have a familial connection with my other roommate, who’s a makeup artist. We’ve known each other since we were teens.
Being creatives, sometimes we don’t always have the money to compensate each other financially. I might log in to my account and find it’s negative. To foster a safer environment at home, we’ve transitioned into doing more of a barter system over the years. The barter system not only makes sense for us, but it also helps us avoid creating food waste, which we all take issue with.
We all contribute to our bulk grocery-sharing routine
We all participate in our bulk grocery shopping and sharing routine and shop at a few different stores, so there’s variety in what we bring into the space. One of my roommates, a fashion designer, juices, so he buys a lot of produce in bulk at stores like Costco or even restaurant wholesale stores he has access to. A lot of times, he makes juices for the entire house, but sometimes, he makes specialized juices just for himself.
My other roommate, a makeup artist, gets bottled water and grains from Trader Joe’s, Pete’s Market, or sometimes even food pantries for the house. I’m the meat buyer of the house and tend to shop at more mainstream grocery stores.
My last bulk grocery run was to Jewel-Osco. I honestly think they partially created their app because of me. I’m always giving feedback related to their customer experience. In the past, the app would not include accurate information on the items specific locations had in stock. The app has thankfully gotten so much more user-friendly compared to how it used to be, which is particularly important to me since I don’t drive or have time to peruse around the store leisurely.
Sometimes, I use the app for pick-up orders, or if I’m in the store, I can search the app for blueberries and see the different types of blueberries and the deals they have, so I know exactly which kind to grab. The last time I used the app, I saw they had great deals on filet mignon. It was marked down from $11 to $5 a pound. There was also an additional sale on meat that was around 30% off — I left with six steaks for around $30.
Since we began bulk shopping and sharing our groceries, we save around $260 to $300 a month.
Depending on how much we save in a month, some of our bulk shopping money will go toward collective household bills. For example, if I make a bulk purchase of meat and end up saving $60, I’ll take that $60 and think of it as free money to be put toward our bills.
Our system has shifted as we’ve figured out what works best for us
Since starting, we have tried different methods of splitting our groceries and paying each other back to figure out what works best for us. Sometimes, we send each other money directly, but we’ll often also do things like compensate each other with produce of an equal amount. For example, I really enjoy passion fruit, and sometimes, it can run $3 a piece, so if my roommate who enjoys enjoys juicing, wants to give me passion fruit in exchange for the steak I just bought, that would be fine.
Although we primarily use the barter system, we do still make grocery purchases that are specifically for our personal use unless we check-in with each other first. Between our constant communication and learning more about each other’s habits over the years, we’re able to pretty easily identify when certain items are not for our bartering system.
For example, I will sometimes make dishes with truffles, and my truffle products are primarily off-limits. My other roommate, the makeup artist, buys items that specifically contain prebiotics and probiotics to help with occasional stomach issues. In other words, when we open up the refrigerator and see truffles or a probiotic drink we all know who it’s for.
I realize our system would not work for everyone or every household. Some prefer to navigate life as more of an individual, and some like to work with others, but only if there are very clear-cut rules. It all comes down to your group’s core values. Our core values lie in supporting our community and making sure we all have the resources we need, and that’s what we try to model in our home.
