w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, A ug us t 1, 20 19 | 4 Beef Tomahawk STeakS Reg. $15.99 lb.$14.99 lb. "meaTy" Pork Back riBS Reg. $7.49 lb.$6.49 lb. Store Made 12x4oz. Beef BurgerS Reg. $16.99 Box.$15.99 Box. Store Made regular or garlic BreakfaST SauSage Reg. $4.49 lb.$3.99 lb. Store Made "award winning" Side Bacon Reg. $6.99 lb.$6.49 lb. Store Made deli Sliced BlackforeST ham Reg. $7.99 lb.$6.99 lb. Store Made Pkg/12 honey garlic PePPerSTix Reg. $5.49 ea.$4.99 ea. July 29 - august 3, 2019 "cuT yourway" new york STriPloin STeakS Reg. $13.99 lb.$9.99 lb. Fresh cuT cenTer cuT Pork choPS Reg. $3.79 lb.$3.29 lb. "for The Smoker" Beef BriSkeTS Reg. $6.99 lb.$5.99 lb. NOW AVAILABLE! Original Recipe Harmony Lunch Burger meat ready for you to take home! Come in and get someWaterloo County Heritage! all our manufactured products are m. S. g., gluten & lactose free! Proud supporters of our local farm families for over 30 years! "On ly t he Bes t fr om our Fam ily to Y our s" w w w . s t e m m l e r m e a t s . c a 3031 labsinger line, heidelberg mon.-wed. 8-6; Thurs.-fri. 8-8; Sat. 7:30-5 519-699-4590 NOWOPEN!! Large Indian Buffet! All You Can Eat Buffet Open 7 Days a Week Lunch 11am to 2:30pm • Dinner 3pm to 9:30pm TAKE OUT MENU AVAILABLE ALL DAY TAKE OUT BOX $9.99 519-742-9000 700 Strasburg Road, Kitchener (Forest Glen Plaza) www.spiceindia.ca CUSTOMER APPRECIATION MONTH LUNch $1099 DINNEr $1299 Valid until August 31, 2019 Many companies see de- livery as a service to sup- plement their business and add hidden costs or service fees to the bills of their cus- tomers. Yet building an online market alone can save huge costs overall, said Evan Hall, president a co-found- er of Zerocery, a new online grocer that will soon deliv- er "zero waste" groceries to residents of Kitchener, Wa- terloo, Cambridge, Guelph and Hamilton. "The majority of our products are either sent out in reusable and returnable jars, packed in composta- ble, wax-free butcher wrap or in recycled paper bags," the website boasts. "A small number of items un- available in bulk are deliv- ered in recyclable contain- ers and nothing needs to end up in the trash." Hall, who previously managed The Mustard Seed, a food co-op in Hamil- ton, said he gained a lot of experience with the local food network and saw a need that wasn't being ful- filled for nearby suppliers and environmentally con- scious customers looking to cut down on packaging waste. Though Hall said there are several companies al- ready delivering groceries to people in the local area, most are based out of To- ronto and Mississauga, and local suppliers in this re- gion are often overlooked. Zerocery, which soft- launched earlier this month, currently features more than 1,000 products on its virtual shelves, the majority sourced from lo- cal producers and suppli- ers within the service area. Hall, who founded the Guelph-based company along with part-owner and vice-president Andrew Nixon, said they work mainly with smaller pro- ducers. "Most of our core suppli- ers don't have multiple lo- cations," he said. For example, Full Circle Foods has been around for 30 years in Kitchener, but has just the one store. "We work with Caudle's Catch (Kitchener) for our seafood and Thatcher farms (Eramosa Township) for our meats," Hall said. Other Waterloo region suppliers include Barrie's Asparagus in Cambridge and Pfenning's Organic in Wilmot Township. "We're able to purchase items in bulk through our suppliers and have a dis- count compared to pack- aged goods - and you're cut- ting out a lot of plastic waste in that sense too." Zerocery does offer some larger brands but avoids giant companies that produce a lot of plastic waste, focusing instead on fostering relationships with farms and companies who prioritize their sourc- ing. Hall said the company avoids products such as palm oil that isn't sourced sustainably. "I think customers that are focused on purchasing local and reducing their carbon footprint won't find a better fit. We've really tried to work with brands people love and trust." Dozens of people are al- ready filling up online shopping carts. The first orders will roll out July 31 and by the time Zerocery's grand opening rolls around in September, Hall hope to offer around 3,000 prod- ucts. "We've tried to cover ev- ery section - bakery, pro- duce, seafood, meat, dairy, plant-based alternatives. So anything you'd expect to see in a grocery store," he said. There's also some soap and beauty products. "We might not have sev- en different brands and the variety you typically see, but we do have a very strong offering, and we also have portion options that allow people to not only cut down on their food waste, ZERO-WASTE GROCER DELIVERS TO YOUR DOORSTEP BILL JACKSON bjackson@kitchenerpost.ca BUSINESS BY MAKING TRANSACTIONS ONLINE AND USING RETURNABLE AND REUSABLE CONTAINERS, ZEROCERY AIMS TO CUT DOWN ON WASTE, AS WELL AS PEOPLE'S FOOD BILL, ALL WHILE SUPPORTING LOCAL SUPPLIERS. See ZEROCERY, page 7 A new online delivery service will soon be providing 'zero-waste' groceries to customers in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. Instagram photo