CALLICOON, NY — Walking into the Callicoon Pantry, one is greeted with soft lightbulbs and a refrigerator with “LOCAL” emblazoned across the top, illuminating neat, colorful boxes and bags and rows of glass containers filled with beans, spices, pasta and more. In addition to the local and healthy options in this re-fillable grocery, there exists the intentional curation of eco- and community-friendly products. 

Though there are presently hundreds of items to choose from, the Pantry began with only 12 items for sale.

Dania LaScola, owner of the Callicoon Pantry, began the operation five years ago in the Callicoon Market building on Lower Main Street. Moving from Arizona with a degree in sustainability, she had come to New York to do an apprenticeship on a farm and then stayed, pulled in by the “vibrant and loving community.” 

“I knew I wanted to work in food systems sustainability in some way,” LaScola said. “I thought, if I go into food policy, I’m going to want to know what it’s like to be a farmer to understand the full food system complexities.” 

Her dad said she had an entrepreneurial spirit from a young age, and LaScola heard Callicoon residents expressing a need for a health food and low-waste store. So she and a friend took a chance and started small, aiming to have “a place for people to come and refill containers with high-quality food pantry staples.” 

The Pantry’s Instagram jokes it’s “not your grandmother’s low-waste grocery.” 

“I say that in jest because it is kind of your grandmother’s low-waste grocery store; it’s totally what we used to think of when it came to food, before we had these massive supermarkets that changed how we shop, how we eat, the amount of plastic that goes into our food,” LaScola said. “But it has a modern twist. We feature things you might not have found years ago—things for people with food restrictions: gluten-free, vegan, paleo.” 

The Pantry also focuses on equity, featuring queer, women, Asian-American and Black-owned businesses. 

“Those nuances make us stand out, in addition to being able to come in and bring your own container to fill up,” said LaScola. “I hope this is a place your grandmother would love to come shop; many grandmas do.”

The Pantry began as a refillable-only store, where customers needed to bring their own containers for groceries. LaScola realized that was not as accessible as she’d hoped for the community. “We thought we were doing right by the planet, but we weren’t really doing right by the people,” she said. 

Approximately 28 percent of landfill waste is food packaging, according to the EPA.

The business model adapted to continue to sell bulk goods, but also added pre-packaged items and brown paper bags. “A big lesson was hearing people and their frustrations. Introducing paper bags was huge. You can also re-use it as a lunch bag, or to start a fire,” she said. “We’re all doing the best we can and are as low-waste as we can be. It’s a tough world to be in without going up the chain and changing large producer mindsets.” 

The Callicoon Pantry does make positive environmental waves in the supply chain, working with Northeast and New York State producers “to combat the monopoly of large distributors.” 

This can help keep prices low. It also can reduce food miles, or the distance food needs to travel to reach its consumer. It all helps the environment along the way. 

The flour in the Pantry is grown and milled in upstate New York. Once Again Peanut Butter is also based in New York. The Pantry works with a local dairy, Freedom Hill Farm, which has plastic containers in other grocery stores, but sells in glass at the Pantry. There is a deposit on the glass in which the dairy is purchased; the container can be returned to the Pantry, and then given back to the farmer to be cleaned and refilled. 

“We’re the only business they do this program with,” said LaScola. “It requires extra work, but it’s something that we’ve committed with them to do. It’s really special to have those relationships with the farmers and cut waste out of the equation in that way.” 

LaScola has visited every nearby farm she sources from in the store, able to see organic practices, or, when a farm might not be certified organic because of the certification costs, able to see sustainable practices encouraging biodiversity. She cited one farm that had monarch butterflies and wildlife thriving. “It might not say it on the label, but it doesn’t have to when you’ve seen it—this is organic actually.”

LaScola noted how moving to the Northeast, with its “bright, busy summers and cozy winters,” encouraged her to eat more seasonally, like enjoying blueberries in the season they are available. “Food grown outside of those seasonalities has its own impact on the planet,” she said.

Buying food in bulk can also be cheaper when placed in one’s own container rather than in a pre-packaged bag. 

“We have bulk coffee that is the same for one pound of coffee as it is for a 12-ounce bag. If you brought in your own container, you’d be getting four ounces more than if you paid for the packaging and design, and creating less waste in the process,” LaScola said.

LaScola supports a mindset shift among other groceries as well, saying, “People want to see apples not covered in plastic, ginger not covered in plastic when it already comes in its natural ginger-root packaging.” 

She is an advocate for people who want to see more stores like this. “I’m happy to advise or help people. I believe that community trumps competition every time,” she said. 

This creates a culture of shopping in bulk and coming prepared with containers. 

LaScola explained, “The more of us there are, the better it is for the planet. It’s a culture shift we all have to work towards—have your reusable bag in your car, have a couple jars; they don’t even have to be glass jars, they could be some little plastic containers. We don’t judge what people bring in. It’s just that mindshift of thinking ahead. Connectedness to our food system and proactiveness is really important.”

The Pantry recently expanded; it now has 25 percent more square footage. “That is due entirely to the community coming in, supporting us, and telling us what they want to see, and being so lovely and warm. I couldn’t ask for a better place to be than Callicoon,” LaScola said.

The Pantry isn’t just about food, but also about community.

“With sustainability comes community. This shop doesn’t happen in a vacuum.” 

LaScola talked about the pantry’s events: free clothing swaps, Friendsgivings, crop planning sessions.

“It’s not so simple as ‘here’s a product and here’s my money, let’s exchange.’ It’s so much more than that,” she said. She plans for future soup nights with Early Bird Cookery, which is connected to the back of the Pantry, and loves when people come in and tell her about a recipe they’ve tried. “I love the exchange of ideas when it comes to food. Food is so important to bring us together,” she said.

LaScola recommends that customers bring a container and find food to fill it with. Her future plans include adding a freezer section for homemade ice pops and frozen local fruit, a nut butter grinder for freshly ground peanut butter, and additional healthy prepared foods from Early Bird Cookery. The kale-ade juice and ranch dressing, both made in-house, are local favorites.

“You vote with your dollar,” said LaScola, emphasizing how consumers can make an impact with what they choose to support. They can also broaden their food knowledge by visiting and supporting local farms.

“A farm with a U-pick day can be a great opportunity to meet your local farmer, meet the people who are working hard to bring you food. The mainstream food industry relies on you not being able to see [where your food is grown]. Once you start being aware, it’s impossible to ignore.”