Welcome to Foodstuffs
We believe in good food, things that work, natural beauty and health, and the unalloyed joy of sharing them all with our customers, friends and families.
When we work hard
enjoy small things
always expect the best of people…
(but don’t expect too much)
we can achieve a very modest success …
and it will be a good life.
Foodstuffs employees come in a magically balanced amazingly comprehensive variety of backgrounds, temperaments, and talents.
We’ve got you covered.
We have about a dozen staff at Foodstuffs —and one boss.
When you shop at Foodstuffs you’re part of the grassroots culture of small business.
You’re not helping to pay big salaries and bonuses to upper management and dividends to stockholders - you’re making a difference for about a dozen of your neighbours and their families.
And we thank you.
We use what we sell and we always look for products that have both a purpose and a “joy quotient”.
We purchase from suppliers we trust, carefully selecting a wide range of products from both conventional and organic sources (tending toward organic as the price gap narrows). We believe that this compromise isn’t a lowering of standards but a constant and conscious effort to make the best possible selection for the widest variety of customers.
We set a fair price.
Our products end up in our customers’ homes so we work with care and respect.
Everything matters.
Foodstuffs began in Cambridge in 1982 as the brain child of Jim Dye (Jamie to the family) with his sister Marcia (me) as partner and parents Bob and Margaret as the hands-on support team.
In 1983 the Downtown Georgetown version of Foodstuffs opened at 92 Main Street South. Jamie soon moved out of Foodstuffs and back into the wholesale food industry. The Cambridge store was sold and we settled comfortably into Georgetown.
Later a cooking studio was added upstairs at 87Up where A Movable Feast cooking classes took place. Later, for a time it was Jentree Whole Foods’ good food studio... Now that's all delicious history - but Foodstuffs is still a going concern.
The original bulk food concept was gradually re-drafted and up-dated to include pre-packaged bulk foods, kitchenwares and gadgets, giftwares, health foods and supplements, special diet foods and specialty teas, coffees and gourmet foods – Foodstuffs has always retained its relevance by responding to our customers’ interests.
We take pride in our extraordinarily quirky and amazingly comprehensive selection of products. We often hear customers lamenting that they should have come to Foodstuffs first… because they’ve found something in our store that they’ve spent a whole lot of time and tire-rubber trying to find everywhere else!
Foodstuffs has always been enriched by its employees, many of whom have been inclined to stay for the long haul. The summer returns and Christmas guest appearances of university students are joyful, happy-dance reunions.
Over the years, Foodstuffs has collected more than shelves of good things. It’s collected stories. Some of those stories live here →
Everyone has something special to give, and the flavour of Foodstuffs is never bland. Quite the contrary.
But you’ll need to come into the store to savour it!
We hope to see you soon,
Marcia