Mission

Why Seed + Oil?

The next chapter in Suryaside’s story: providing a space that nourishes the Western Queens community, while being kind to planet Earth. Single-use plastics and packaging have deteriorated the world, and we are ready to do our part in the healing process by opening up Seed & Oil: a zero-waste grocery store.

We’ve partnered with reputable and ethically-sourced suppliers to offer the neighborhood a variety of high-quality natural foods and products. We believe access to information on sustainable living offered at fair prices should be readily available to everyone.

Suryaside Seed & Oil is your local grocery store offering essentials and education on mindful and healthy living.  Small changes make a big impact to the collective community

Community + Global Impact

It is our duty to preserve the planet for future generations. The average American uses and throws away 110 pounds of single use plastic every year. Through conscientious decision making, we can help drastically reduce that number and more importantly, shift the culture around the way we purchase, sell, and consume goods. 

“But I recycle!” we all say. The sad reality is that a very small portion of plastic recycling actually gets recycled. The rest end up in landfills where toxic chemicals leach into our ocean water, where it then breaks down into microplastics, ingested by ocean animals and eventually into our food. 

Our Commitment

Whether an individual or a corporation, all of our choices matter. That's why we are deliberate in the vendors we choose, the people we hire, and the communities we uplift. The very existence of our store is a call to action for the community. In addition to bringing a more sustainable shopping option into the homes of our direct community, it’s important to bring our reach even further. We are working toward:

  • Hiring locally with special consideration given to formerly incarcerated people. 

  • 15% discount to people residing in NYCHA housing in an effort to balance out systemic inequities. 

  • Opportunity for customers to donate towards gift certificates to people with less resources. 

Who’s Sami?

We chose Sami the Squirrel as our furry urban forest ambassador because who better to represent our environmental efforts than a rambunctious New Yorker who’s nuts about city life?! Squirrels are an important part of our ecosystem here in NYC. Working with the seasons, they bury nuts and seeds while abundant in the warmer months, sniffing them out in winter. But guess what happens to the food they don’t find? Well, they sprout and grow into new trees! 

Sami is the embodiment of what Seed + Oil strives for and will be announcing sales, new products and sharing all the knowledge.