Family Farm Health Food Store commits to health of the EarthFamily Farm Health Food Store commits to health of the Earth

Nestled in a small town northwest of Houston, Texas, Family Farm Health Food Store is a resource for supplements, essential oils, homeopathic remedies, gift items and packaged foods. Shoppers can also make an appointment to see a Family Farm holistic specialist in a session room situated behind the retail store. In this way, Family Farm is more than a health food store—it’s a destination for an integrated, holistic approach to wellness, with a focus on how it, too, impacts the planet.

For owner Cathy Kilgore, sustainability has two meanings: first, it applies to practicing eco-friendliness in her business plan to extend the health of the earth; secondly, it’s about applying these practices and other innovations to extend the life of her store. “A business owner has to be continually looking at the industry and what’s going on in order to move with it,” she says. “If not, you’re not going to sustain yourself much less be in a position to be growing.”

Three sustainable steps Family Farm makes:

Cutting down on packaging: Family Farm prioritizes brands that minimize waste and package their products in eco-friendly ways. At the very least, Kilgore says, the packaging must be recyclable, but she also wants to know if the packaging is green, meaning it’s made with less (or no) plastic, is biodegradable or packaged and shipped with minimal fillers.

Focusing on non-GMO: Family Farm shoppers are seeking out non-GMO products, so it’s no coincidence that the store’s two biggest vendors are non-GMO. For Kilgore, it’s a huge selling point when she can tell her shoppers that lines are either completely non-GMO or moving in that direction.

Minimizing waste behind the scenes: Whether it’s minimizing printing or maximizing recycling, Family Farm makes sure its footprint is as small as it can be. “We don’t print unless we have to print and, when we do, we print double-sided,” Kilgore says. “That’s just one small example of how we generally conduct ourselves with our business.”