Shopping local groceries with AltGrocery’s Tom Pischel

By Adele Lukusa | November 6, 2024

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CHANGEMAKER INTERVIEW

Shopping local groceries with altgrocery's Tom Pischel

For our November Changemakers newsletter, we spoke with AltGrocery's founder, Tom Pischel, about building a map that points people towards alternatives to big-box stores.

A black and white portrait of AltGrocery's Tom Pischel.

Portrait of Tom Pischel, AltGrocery's founder.
📸: Provided by Tom Pischel

Adele Lukusa BW

Adele Lukusa

A graduate of TMU, Kitchener native enamoured with Toronto and lover of Jamila Woods. Currently working on supporting mutual aid efforts and unpacking the nuances of Black haircare.

Nov. 6, 2024

If you’re looking for a farmer’s market in the heart of Etobicoke or a Chinese supermarket in Malvern, AltGrocery has you covered.

The map has only been up for a couple of months but showcases thousands of farmers, grocery stores, distilleries, online shops and more to help folks nationwide find affordable shopping alternatives.

While I took the Loblaws boycott campaign last spring as a time to explore my own neighbourhood and shop local, AltGrocery's founder Tom Pischel took it as a way to challenge himself and help others.

While scrolling through the “Loblaws Is Out Of Control” subreddit, Tom noticed that there were no directories for those looking for alternatives to well-known grocery chains, except a couple of non-comprehensive graphics and lists by other Reddit users. So, he made one.

Today, AltGrocery is in its second form with a new domain, updated design and speedier site — and Tom is just getting started.

How did AltGrocery come to be?

Really, it started off because I was noticing the high grocery prices.

I stumbled across that “Loblaws Is Out Of Control” subreddit and, out of boredom, I was like “Hey, you know what? I could do something, I could make something kind of cool.” So I reached out to Emily, one of the moderators of the group, and showed them a version of what AltGrocery could become.

I literally had two weeks to put together the website in time for May 1st for those who were choosing to boycott. And I saw it as an opportunity because I'm so supportive of small businesses and the subreddit’s cause. They needed to shop somewhere, so I figured why don't we try and get as many of these independent businesses on this website so that people can actually start there?

I know you aren’t a traditional web developer, so how have your past projects helped shape AltGrocery?

A little background about myself, I am a front-end designer by trade but because I spent the last six years building other apps, I've immersed myself in the tech industry.

One of my projects was Welcome. Welcome was basically a way that new Canadians and residents could actually adapt to new communities. I have some rental properties and so I had a lot of new Canadians who came in as my tenants. And they would ask “Where can I find halal butcher shops? Where can I find a good school or daycare?” And those are a lot of really serious questions. I didn’t want to screw up this person's life by giving bad advice. So Welcome was about showing them what was already there.

When I built Welcome, I was reaching for the stars. Unfortunately last December, after six years of working on it, bootstrapping and spending hundreds of my money, I ended Welcome. But that was the basis of what AltGrocery is.

November marks just eight months of your food map being live. What has this project taught you?

What I learned from my experience with Welcome and AltGrocery is that as much as I want to help people, it's really hard to get funding. I've already said that I wanted to make this a fully free program and it is. Businesses will always have a free profile and users will always have free access to this platform.

But no one’s really taking me seriously. Actually, I had this comment on Instagram the other day after I said that AltGrocery 2.0 is out: “Oh, you're making it free, why would I even want to sign up?” Basically, if I make it free I have no value. So people are asking me “What's the longevity of this platform if it's out of your own pocket?” And I'm on the fence. Maybe I want to charge businesses for some premium features, but that actually deters from what I'm trying to do — helping the little guy who doesn't have the funding.

So, I'm torn. I don't know which state I want to be in, but I know I want to build something that’s useful for people. To educate them about the small businesses and the food that's in their area that’s more affordable. And I'm very serious about this platform. I'm dedicated to this. I know I'm not really making money, but I'm 100% in.

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.

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Posted in Changemakers, Food, Shopping