These $15 Reusable Produce Bags Are Saving Me So Much Money in the Long Run

As much as I’ve been trying to cut down on waste in the kitchen, I have a bad habit of overusing plastic sandwich bags. I have a limited number of food storage containers (I never cook big batches of food, and I work from home), so I rarely store half of an apple or lemon that way. Instead, I turn to sandwich bags and cringe with guilt every time I use one. Buying these bags is not cheap — they can cost up to $5 a box! — and obviously single-use plastic is bad for the planet, so I’ve known that I need to find an alternative for a while now. I finally found my solution when I got my hands on the brand new Reusable Produce Bag from editor-loved reusable food wrap brand, Bee’s Wrap. I’m happy to report that I have not used a single sandwich bag since receiving these cheerfully patterned beauties!

If you’re not familiar with Bee’s Wrap, it’s an award-winning Vermont-based reusable food wrap that’s been around for years. They use scraps of organic cotton that’s coated in a mixture of beeswax (or plant-based wax for their vegan line), certified organic plant oil, and tree resin to form a wrap that you can use over and over again for storing or transporting food, just like plastic wrap, but better. The sheet becomes pliable when the wax is warmed by your hands, and then you can use it to cover bowls, jars, and plates or to wrap produce inside. Not only is it a repeat winner on our Kitchn Essentials: Tools Edition, but it’s also a B Corp Certified company, so you can trust that they operate sustainably.

While the classic Bee’s Wrap sheets are great for covering bowls or half-full cans of beans, I love using these new produce bags for fruits and vegetables, like heads of broccoli, lettuce, or fresh herbs. They make my crowded fridge look so much neater, and I definitely plan on using them for trips to the farmer’s market this spring and summer.

I also like that I can store a bunch of veggies together at once. For instance, I’m happy to keep all of my half-used produce like lemons, onions, tomatoes, and peppers together. This way, I’m not using up all of my food wraps and I only have to wash one item. It’s a much better solution than blowing through separate sandwich bags for each item — I would sometimes have up to five bags in the fridge at once — and they keep my food fresher for longer. Yup, the Bee’s Wrap bags not only help Mother Earth, they also save me money and extra trips to the grocery store, as well as cut down on the amount of food I have to throw away before I get to use it. And they look quite stylish while doing so.

I love how easy it is to rinse these wraps and bags. I find that silicone bags hold on to food smells no matter how hard I scrub. With these Bee’s Wrap bags, I just give them a quick rinse with soap and water, let them dry, and they’re good as new. And when they lose their stickiness after about a year, they’re compostable or usable in a campfire, so there’s zero waste left behind.

I’m excited to use these produce bags outside as the weather continues to warm up and I start spending a majority of my free time hanging out in the park with friends. These reusable bags are perfect for bringing cheese, snacks, and fruit, and then I can fold them up and store them in a tote bag for the walk home. There’s no way I’m ever going back to single-use plastic sandwich bags.

Buy: Bee’s Wrap Reusable Produce Bag, $14.99