Food cooperatives allow communities to buy good quality, fresh food at affordable prices. Local residents come together to form a cooperative and bulk buy from suppliers in order to take advantage of cheaper prices. This produce can be shared amongst the cooperative or sold to the cooperative’s customers via stalls, mobile stores, or box schemes.

This article will explain how a food cooperative works, how to get involved in one, and the many benefits associated with membership.

How do food cooperatives work?

Food cooperatives are run by the community for the community. Their main aim is to provide fresh, quality produce at reduced prices to those found in large shops. They are run by volunteers on a not for profit basis.

Every food cooperative is unique and the way it is run depends on the people involved. You may sell just fruit and vegetables or meat, eggs and cheese also. It is up to each food cooperative how often you meet and (if selling to customers rather than just sharing produce) where and how you sell the produce.

Why set up a food cooperative?

The main reason to set up a food cooperative is to obtain healthy, fresh produce at affordable prices. However, there are many more reasons for a community to set up a food cooperative.

• There may be few shops where you live
• You might want to buy produce unavailable in supermarkets
• You may not want to support large supermarkets, but rather buy food straight from producers
• Your local shops may have little choice

How to set up a food cooperative

Firstly, you need to gather enough people interested in forming a food cooperative. Volunteers must understand that day to day running of the cooperative is required and that responsibilities will need to be shared for the cooperative to be successful.

The cooperative will need to

• Form an arrangement with a wholesale supplier
• Agree a minimum order price
• Place the order
• Make sure there is a set address to deliver to
• Make sure someone is there to sign for the delivery
• Distribute the produce amongst the cooperative

Benefits of a food cooperative

Food cooperatives can have a wide range of benefits and setting one up is not just about providing good food. Benefits include:

• Increasing awareness of healthy food within a community
• Promoting collaboration and socialising within a community
• Helping local suppliers and producers by providing support for British produce
• Providing food that has little packaging and has not travelled far, thus helping the environment
• Supporting the local economy