Life & Work with Katie Fletcher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Fletcher. 

Katie, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Katie Fletcher, and I am the founder of Local Scoop, a package-free, waste-free grocery store coming soon to North County, San Diego. I was born and raised in Solana Beach. I went preschool through my senior year of high school here and played soccer for local clubs starting from the time I was six. 

In 2013, I moved to Connecticut to study and play D1 soccer at Yale. I was studying public health and environmental science, also taking classes in the history of medicine and psychology. I realized how culturally and social engraved food was and how different the products were on the East coast versus the West. Through my classes, I became increasingly interested in nutrition and global agriculture techniques, including the history of large-scale farming and food manufacturing developments in our country. 

During my junior year, I went to study abroad in Sydney, Australia, where I was first introduced to package-free grocery shopping. Accustomed to big box stores and massive grocery chains in Southern California, I had never seen a store without single-use packaging. I began picking up a few items to keep for emergencies, unsure what to do with dried chickpeas but confident I could figure it out if I needed to. 

At the time, I was recovering from an eating disorder and often felt overwhelmed by the process of finding snacks and food to enjoy as a busy student on a tight budget. However, my neighborhood’s incredible zero-waste store consistently added new, nutritious goodies like freeze-dried chocolate-covered strawberries, apricot bliss balls, and raw superfood buckwheat granola. The items were so vibrant, colorful, and delicious that I came to crave anything they offered. Finding genuine joy and excitement in food (instead of fear or dread) at the grocery store helped restore my love and deep relationship with food and eating. 

Over time, I developed an almost weekly habit of going into the store, hungry for a snack and ready to discover what exciting and DELICIOUS treats were available. Some weeks I would just pop by to fill up a little compostable bag with snacks for the walk home. Other times, I would leave with enough ginger turmeric almonds and spirulina muesli for the entire week. 

When I started shopping at bulk food stores, the products aligned with my health values, emphasizing nutrient-dense, whole-food ingredients. However, learning about the wasteful ways my food was packaged was novel. I had yet to connect the dots between large-scale food production and importation, deceptive food marketing, and the broader environmental implications of consuming things packaged in unsustainable ways. I cared a lot about the food I put in my body but hadn’t considered the planet’s finite resources or its food supply. 

When I returned to California, I was committed to buying bulk and ensuring my foods had as little packaging as possible. To my surprise, Google searches for “bulk food” or “bulk grocery near me” were empty. For years, I revisited this search with no success. I started buying bulk from places like Amazon and Costco as an alternative. This solution was alright, but I always felt disheartened when a box would arrive with three additional boxes and plastic wrap around each item. My efforts felt fruitless. 

Newly out of college, I searched for ways to decrease my weekly food costs. I grew increasingly frustrated at the absorbent prices of healthy grab-and-go snacks at my local cafes and restaurants. I would make my own snacks at home, but this still meant buying raw ingredients in single-use packaging. Finding something tasty and healthy at a reasonable cost while out and about remained challenging. 

For years, I dutifully refilled my spice containers and jars with grains and nuts, developing what my dad would affectionally refer to as my pantry “Apocathery.” I continued to crave the food and experience I had discovered abroad. Frustrated and disheartened, I realized that the only solution was to set out and create the grocery store I’d been missing. 

One Sunday, biking along the 101 with my dog Tuna, I had a moment of clarity, realizing that the only way to address my deepest concerns about food and our food system is to contribute my own solutions. Local Scoop is the place for all of those resolutions to come together. 

Since then, I (with the help of several of my amazing friends and family) have been working tirelessly to make Local Scoop a reality. I am so excited to place each new piece of this puzzle together, and I cannot wait to share with you the final product! 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has been a fun ride for sure! When I first set out to found Local Scoop, I worked full time, so juggling the two between evenings and weekends was challenging. Finding a space that is the right size and affordable for my first year has been a huge obstacle, but the space we found was a brush of absolute luck. My background is in food and nutrition, so the logistics of lawyers and licenses have been new learnings, but it has been an awesome challenge, and I feel blessed to be learning so much. 

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For the past five years, I have been working in the field of nutrition in many different ways. After college, I worked for a non-profit research organization in Washington, DC, seeking to advance the use of plant-based nutrition and dietary interventions to cure disease. Back in San Diego, I took a job with a company advancing the use of plant-based nutrition to support patients through surgical procedures. This was my first experience at a start-up, which I loved! Wearing lots of different hats and seeing each day as a novel opportunity to learn or try something new was a great experience for me. Afterward, I applied for grad school, intending to further my studies in nutrition and become a dietitian or get a dual degree in business and global food technology. Ultimately, I was admitted to my dream programs and somehow felt myself feeling unsure about more school as my next steps, so I took some time off before letting Local Scoop come to fruition. 

What makes you happy?
Easy! Community and food. Oh, and the ocean. Living in San Diego for most of my life, I have realized that what brings me joy is physical spaces and activities that bring like-minded people together. I have a lot of different interests – yoga, surfing, soccer, food, the gym, etc. As an adult, I have found a lot of meaning in developing relationships in many different social microcosms. Food will always be my first true love. I love restaurants, cooking, trying new foods, and learning about the history and future of everything on our plates. I also love the ocean; it is where I go for calmness and retreat. I am so lucky to get to do this most days. 

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/local_scoop_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/localscoopsd/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/local_scoop_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBGD5gpWV_ZfEOdYY2HH9iA
• Other: https://igg.me/at/localscoop/x/30043620#/