The Pasta Shop in Market Hall Foods. Or as my friend calls it, Markup Hall. It’s pricy, alright. But they do have bulk pasta! All different shapes and sizes! And Market Hall is only a few short blocks from my house right near the Rockridge BART station. Unfortunately, they only offer the standard roll of plastic bags near the bulk pasta. But if you ask at the counter, they will give you paper bags. It was very crowded today, so I didn’t want to try and get into a discussion about bags. I’ll find a less busy time (if there is one) to approach the manager about putting out paper bags as an alternative to the plastic. Most customers will simply take what’s available rather than ask for something different.

At Market Hall’s Cheese Shop, I asked to have my cheese sliced to order and wrapped in paper. However, the merchant wasn’t really clear on the concept. When I got my paper-wrapped cheese home and opened up the wrapper, I found inside a sheet of plastic to add to my pile this week. And later, I discovered that the plastic is actually attached to the paper wrapper, so unless I bring my own baggie or paper with me, there won’t be a way to buy cheese from them without plastic.

Paul Marcus Wines at Market Hall does not believe in using styrofoam shippers. They use molded pulp bottle shippers to package their wines for delivery and were very happy to show and demonstrate to me how they work. The merchant told me that the only time these types of shippers might not work is if the wine is being shipped to an area with a very wet climate. These shippers might not survive a heavy rainstorm. Otherwise they work great.

In addition to fresh fruits and vegetables, Market Hall Produce has a few bulk bins of nuts, seeds, & grains. Once again, I only saw plastic bags offered, but I imagine they too would give you a paper bag if you asked. Of course, the best thing to do is bring your own bags, but barring that, having paper available would be nice.

Market Hall also houses a bakery, meat market, fish shop, florist, and Peaberry’s Coffee & Tea. Other than ordering an iced chai in a paper cup from Peaberry’s, I didn’t have time to check out the plastification of any of these other shops today. I was on my way to Elephant Pharmacy in Berkeley. More on that later.

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