Zero waste business owner finally finds ‘too good to miss’ Northamptonshire premises

A zero waste business owner who has been searching for the perfect premises for her company for more than a year has finally found a shop.

Kerry Leese, who is from Northampton and originally planned to open the shop in her hometown, had to widen her search after a number of setbacks.After 18 months of searching, the entrepreneur is happy to announce she has finally found the right premises.

Food for Thought Northamptonshire will be located in Nene Court Shopping Village of Embankment in Wellingborough, surrounded by many other local, independent businesses.

Kerry said: “I’ve been searching for premises in Northampton for the past 18 months but after a number of challenges and disappointments I had to widen my search.

“I’m still looking at ways that Food for Thought can help the community it's built in Northampton, after all this is my hometown, but the property in Nene Court is too good to miss out on, surrounded by local, independent businesses.

“It makes sense when we need tangible change now.”

The shop will celebrate local produce and promote sustainable living, as well as helping the local community to reduce their single-use plastic.

Customers will be able to buy food, cleaning and personal hygiene products more sustainably without plastic packaging and will be able to bring their own containers and refill items such as nuts, crisps, rice, pasta, pulses, flour, washing up liquid and laundry detergent. Any packaged products will be single-use plastic free in tin, aluminium or glass.

The idea for a zero waste shop came to Kerry when she became preoccupied with the climate crisis and plastic pollution after having her daughter in 2018.She added: “I’ve always been aware of environmental issues but action by the likes of Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough around that time really empowered me to take action.

“I want to offer anything you can find in a supermarket that’s wrapped in plastic, just without the plastic.

“The weekly shop for the average home is full of single-use plastic.

“Instead I want to encourage people to reuse what they already have, be it an old jam jar, take away container or even a pasta packet can be reused and should be if it’s still intact.

“It’s about reusing what we’ve got, what already exists. We’ve been told that recycling is the answer but it should be the last point of call once an item has been used to the end of its life.

“It’s about everyone doing their bit.

“No one is perfect but we all have our part to play in stopping the damage to our environment.

“How could I look my daughter in the eye knowing that I’d not done something?”

Work is currently underway on the Food for Thought shop with the aim of opening by the end of November.

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