Live Free Refillery zero-waste grocery store: Organic result of owner’s passion for local farming

BEDFORD, NH – Juliette Buell has worked for a Pennsylvania county extension, at farms, in organic mom-and-pop grocery stores and countless farm stands – if it has to do with agriculture, she’s probably done it.

“I’ve been doing agriculture for a long time,” she said Thursday during the grand opening of Live Free Refillery, her zero waste locally sourced grocery store.

With her background, opening the store was, well… organic.

“A lot of things I’ve done in my life have led to this,” she said. “It’s definitely been an organic process.”

Buell most recently worked for Brookford Farm in Canterbury, and was looking for a way to use her experience and passion for agriculture, as well as make an impact in the community.

The concepts behind the store, at 491 Route 101, are likely something most shoppers understand: locally sourced products and zero waste packaging. But they haven’t seen it combined in New Hampshire the way it is at Live Free Refillery.

Buell says it is the first zero-waste grocery store in New Hampshire. The store opened July 5, but Thursday was the official launch.

Concern about the growing plastic glut created by dependence on plastics that aren’t biodegradable is behind the store’s zero-waste philosophy. Only 9% of plastic is recycled, 12% is incinerated, and the other 79% goes into landfills, or becomes litter. More than 300 million tons of plastic is created each year worldwide, with half of it “made to be used for a few brief moments as single-use disposable items such as beverage bottles, straws, packaging, service ware, food wrappers, and plastic bags,” the store’s website points out.

All packaging at the store is reusable, recyclable or biodegradable. The packaging all-stars at the store are the 16- and 32-ounce jars for the dozens of dry goods lined up along the back wall. Customers can buy the reusable jars for their dry goods and keep them, or bring them back and get a refund on the $1.25 or $1.50 they paid for them.

The store also sells produce, dairy products, body care, cleaning supplies and other merchandise.

The primary focus is to provide a platform for local producers to sell to area residents.

The role agriculture plays in a community and individual lives, even in a relatively urban area like greater Manchester, is something people should be aware of, Buell said. The zero waste part is a natural and necessary element of her business.

“We need farms near us,” Buell said. “People need to see where their food is coming from. There’s a real disconnect there.”

Buell said she wants the store to help create good jobs in agriculture, or “at least support the ones that are out there.”

As New Hampshire farmland disappears, Buell said the issue is a vital one. “There are not a lot of jobs [in New Hampshire] for people who want to get into agriculture,” she said.

In the five years between 2012 and 2017, the number of farms in the state decreased 6%, the amount of farmland was down 10%, and the size of farms decreased 4%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture five-year census (the 2022 numbers haven’t been released yet). Of the 4,123 farms in the state in 2017, 97% were family farms, and 29% sold directly to consumers. In Hillsborough County, there were 605, a 12% decrease in five years. Of those 95% were classified as family farms, and 34% sold directly to consumers.

Buell is still working on connecting with local producers, and wants to bring more in.

Meanwhile, customers are on board.

Fran Bellaire saw the store online during an overnight stop on her way home to New York from a vacation. She needed some staples for when she got back to upstate New York, and figured she’d check out the store.

“It’s a wonderful concept,” Bellaire said. “I wish we had something like this at home. It makes me feel good to shop this way.”

Buell said that’s the vibe she gets from customers. “I feel like people are very eager to do something different,” as the realities of the climate crisis and the effect of plastics in organic systems become bigger challenges.

The refillable and reusable containers have not been a stumbling block for customers. “We have a lot of people asking questions, and we walk them through,” Buell said.

Thursday’s grand opening brought a steady stream of customers into the store, keeping Buell and two employees busy.

Buell spent several years envisioning the store she wanted and planning it, driven by her passion for organic and sustainable farming. If nothing else, she said, “This store embraces that we can do better.”