Village Raw - ISSUE 15

VILLAGE RAW
FOOD & DRINK
Opening pages and this page: Hornsey’s vegan and low-impact grocery store, Harmless, owned by Tami Jarvis (above right).
This page: Nicola Glantz, of WeFil, at one of her monthly pop-ups.
It’s a quiet Tuesday in January when I visit Harmless, a vegan
refillable store in Hornsey. Owner Tami Jarvis is in the window
unpacking some of her stock. Well known to many locals and loyal
customers, Tami is on a mission to help us transition to a lifestyle
that is less damaging to the planet and more ethical.
The entrepreneur is part of a movement to reject single use
plastic, eat healthily and reduce waste. Customers can dispense
beans, pulses, legumes and much more into their own containers.
There’s a peanut butter machine, oat milk on tap, ground coffee
from W Martyn in Muswell Hill, and a freezer with loose fruit.
Some of her bestselling products, however, are vegan fudge,
dark chocolate buttons and marshmallows. With the rise of
conscious consumerism, Harmless should be a thriving local
business in an area that has its fair share of eco warriors and oat
milk drinkers. Instead, it’s struggling.
“Unfortunately, we’re close to shutting down,” Tami tells me. To
battle against shrinking profit margins, she’s changing some of her
suppliers and switching out some of her pricier organic products. Tami
wants to ensure that this way of shopping is attainable for everyone
so she keeps her prices as low as possible. They’re comparable to
the big supermarkets on many products and can be cheaper. Her
organic rice, for example, works out less expensive by weight.
But there is a price perception problem with Harmless and
other shops like it. As Tami explains, many people come into the
shop and fill containers that are twice or three times the size they
would get at their local supermarket. When they get to the till they
are shocked at the cost.
It’s much the same at The Source Bulk Foods in Crouch End.
The newcomer is a franchise owned by Alessandro Iovino, a South
African who settled in London a few years ago. He has another site
in West Hampstead which opened in late 2020. Formerly working
in commercial real estate, Alessandro sunk his own money into
the concept because he believed so passionately in it. Recycling
should be the last resort, he says.
Alessandro admits that pricing can be a challenge but
explains that the store recently completed a cost comparison
to Sainsbury’s. The final basket came out lower for basics such
as rice and pasta. When I ask if he believes that this lifestyle is
only for those who can afford it, he disagrees. “It’s more of an
inconvenience, yes, but it doesn’t necessarily have to cost more.”
The higher cost is often the result of sourcing ethically made
products, using small suppliers who prioritise traceability and
transparency. Tami, for instance, thinks carefully about everything
she sources for Harmless. She buys many of her products from a
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