Our story

• Welcome to Food For Thought - your local zero waste & refill grocery store that's all about good vibes and good choices!

  We believe that sustainability is more important now than ever before.

  Our planet is facing unprecedented challenges from climate change, pollution, and resource depletion.

  That's why we're committed to providing a more sustainable shopping experience for our community in & around Wellingborough & Northants.

  We carefully select products that are organically & locally produced where possible, ethically sourced for refill or packaged in eco-friendly materials. By reducing waste, supporting local businesses, and engaging with our customers on the importance of sustainability, we're doing our part to create a better future for all.

  So join us in our mission to make the world a healthier and happier place, one shopping trip at a time!

Our Zero Waste Story

• Food for Thought was born out of a desire to help the environment & improve wellbeing. We do that by helping you to refill on food, cleaning, personal care & home products without a reliance on plastic or pesticides!

  After the birth of my daughter Harper I was really ill with postnatal depression. There was so much press coverage of plastic pollution & climate change that I was utterly overwhelmed as to what to do & terrified by what we were doing to our planet.

  What was my poor baby inheriting?

  It wasn’t a fun place to be.

  Then I had a moment! After a mums & babies group, I was going through rubbish after watching everyone putting food & plastic into the bin (it's not just me is it?). I couldn't bare the thought of it sitting in landfill when I could reuse, compost or recycle. People were taking the mick out out of me when i heard myself say “you wait, I’ll open a zero waste shop, then you’ll see!”

• Of course this was a throw away comment (puntastic). I had a newborn with feeding issues, I’d been working in TV production & had no retail experience, let alone any money or know-how. I'm many things but clearly sensible isn't one of them. But through the haze of depression came this new passion & drive that I forgot I had.

  I did have an almost obsessive love of delicious, high-quality food. I was always researching how eco-friendly products really were & I was totally overwhelmed by how to 'do zero waste'. The only solution I'd found was driving to five different places to get my shopping.

  I started researching what Food for Thought would look like. I knew that we needed the shop which was a bit obvious but I wanted it to do so much more. I imagined a wonderful community of like-minded people, events, learning, socialising, reducing loneliness & improving the environment, celebrating awesome products & producers, supporting local artisans… it got really exciting.

• I definitely wasn’t alone.

  After months of business planning, gaining support & crowdfunding we opened in December 2020, in Nene Court, Wellingborough. We’ve been helping you lovelies to reduce your waste, learning ways to be more eco-friendly & enjoy the process ever since! 

  The wonderful Alice came on board in summer 2021, so it wasn’t just me trying to do everything (washing jars!). Later in 2021 we started a series of workshops & events all aiming to learn about zero waste, our health & wellbeing & reduce loneliness. We’ve held toy swaps, clothes’ swaps, peri-menopause support groups & children’s up cycling sessions.

  We have a huge range of organic, locally sourced & vegan goodness. So bring your containers jars get started. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be an expert in zero waste, just willing!