Home - REFILL. NOT LANDFILL.

WHO WE ARE

Blue Market AK is a small woman-owned neighborhood grocery store in the heart of Spenard, Alaska with a local-food focus and commitment to eliminating single-use plastics by adhering to “localvore” and “zero-waste” refillery models of shopping. We actively promote a circular economy by reusing, repurposing and recycling while featuring locally-made and -grown products and connecting small local businesses every day. A community-centered social enterprise, we give 1% back every day and feature locally grown/made, unpackaged or minimally packaged products.
Our Core Values shape every decision we make: Transparency. Sustainability. Community.

WHO WE SERVE

Conscious consumers who wish to reduce landfill waste, purchase healthy local foods and products and support their community have a place to feel at home here. For "slow shoppers" who enjoy a cozy environment with high quality choices, we feature a carefully curated selection of minimally packaged or unpackaged healthy, local, eco-friendly and affordable grocery, household, personal care and gift items.

TRANSPARENcy

We do the research so you don’t have to! We are transparent about who our vendors are and how our products are made. We vet and label all of our products, and rate them based on our Blue Market Standard of sustainable, humanitarian, community-minded practices.
We are also honest about the waste that we can’t avoid.

SUSTAINABility

We offer creative sustainable options for purchasing items with re-usable, repurposed, and recycled containers (new, from our "containers lending library," or from your kitchen).
Our Refillery Supports:
Refuse
Reduce
Reuse
Repurpose
Recycle

COmmunity

Our store is more than just a shopping experience - it is inviting and creative, a conscious community of local vendors, shoppers and concerned citizens who want to change their habits to ensure a healthy planet.
Some ways we contribute:
1% Giving Back Program
Local Makers Pop-ups
Talk & Tinker Tuesdays
Partnerships

our 2026 1st Quarter
1% Giving Back Recipient:
Seeds of Change

We are happy to announce our 2026 1st quarter 1% Giving Back Recipient, Seeds of Change.
This quarter (January-March), 1% of your Blue Market AK purchase is being donated to Alaska Seeds of Change.

They have had a rough year, with the roof of their hydroponic greenhouse off of Arctic Blvd. in Spenard collapsing and thus requiring the shutting down of their growing season. Over the spring and summer, while the building was fixed, they pivoted and grew as much produce as they could outside, the old fashioned way! It was amazing and we were so grateful. Now, nearly a year later, they are looking forward to starting up the hydroponics and their programs again, with some exciting new changes:

Alaska Seeds of Change is evolving to better serve the community while continuing to offer opportunities for learning, personal growth and therapeutic engagement through growing fresh local food! The program is transitioning from focusing on youth to providing therapeutic and skill development activities for all Alaska Behavioral Health clients through indoor hydroponic gardening in winter, outdoor growing in summer, and other related activities.

Seeds experienced some challenges over the last year (the ceiling collapsed!), so we at Blue Market AK want to help them get up and running strong in the new year! Don't we all miss those fantastic spring greens??

Some of our amazing Blue Market AK family. OUR STAFF ROCK!!!

Plastic Free 907 Tier 1 Recognition for reducing plastic waste in our community.

1% Giving Back recipients
Since we opened in 2019!

Seeds of Change
(current until March 31, 2026)

Past Recipients (since we opened in August 2019):

The Alaska Center
ACAT (Alaska Community Action on Toxics)
Plastic Free 907 Initiative
UAA Seawolf Food Pantry
MANA Mutual Aid Network of Anchorage
Friends of Alaska 4-H
REAP (Renewable Energy Alaska Project)
Alaska Farmland Trust
Pinniped Entanglement Group
F.I.S.H. (Friends In Serving Humanity)
Alaska Park Foundation
FIG (Fresh International Gardens)
Alaska Tribal Conference on Environmental Management
Children's Lunchbox / Beans Cafe
Bike Anchorage
Alaska Community Action on Toxics
Alaska Wildlife Alliance
Alaska Common Ground
Cook Inletkeeper
Anchorage Waterways Council
Alaska Food Policy Council
Alaska Sealife Center
Alaska Seeds of Change
AYEA (Alaska Youth for Environmental Action)
Alaska Marine Conservation Council
Friends of Fish Creek

2022-2025 Statistics:
WITH just a sampling of our more popular products, we (and our customers) have saved over 178,649 pieces of garbage from entering the Landfill since 2022!

You can sign up yourself on the Events tab of the website!

WHAT we do

Re-use/ Repurpose / Recycle
Vet vendors for sustainability
Essential grocery, home, health
Refill your containers (or ours)
Support Local Vendors (currently 54% of our vendors are local)
Giving Back - 1% every day
No single-use-plastics
Minimize waste
Build Community

our little blue market cart had a sampling of the products we now carry in our store

why we do it

To ensure that our blue planet's oceans and earth are healthy, sustainable, and endure for generations to come.
To be Anchorage's first neighborhood "unpackaged" refill store.
To foster a shift from quick, disposable shopping to mindful eco-friendly purchasing habits.
To join the global “zero-waste” movement.
To eliminate single-use plastics.
To emphasize sustainable local production.
To be a community-minded social enterprise

HOW we do it

Provide a shopping experience free from one-time-use-plastic-packaging
Alaska made/grown products (~40% currently)
Offer ethically-sourced products: fair trade, repurposed/recycled materials; unpackaged; from companies that give back to their communities
Reduce our carbon footprint
Build a conscious community of environmentally-aware consumers
Give back to earth-friendly causes every day as 1% of our revenue goes to a nonprofit chosen for the quarter.