Buying groups / clubs / co-ops

Introduction

You’re going to want some foods that are not fresh and not produced locally – like rice, pasta, dried beans, olive oil, spices, tea, coffee etc.

You may want to form a group / buying club / co-op with friends, family, work colleagues and/or neighbours, so that you can get foods delivered in bulk. As a member of a buying group, you can save money and gain control of where your food comes from – i.e. you can purchase from a wholesale food co-operative.

What to do

1. Join a local food buying group / club / co-op

Here’s a map of existing groups that you may be able to join around the UK:

Food Co-op Finder

2. Start a group

If you don’t have a group in your area, you can start one. It can be very informal – just a group of friends getting together to purchase in bulk from an existing food co-op that will deliver to a drop-off point (maybe a member’s home, or for bigger groups, a community centre / building / hub).

Here are two existing food co-ops that deliver all over the UK, and have information about purchasing by buying groups:

Suma (Yorkshire)

Essential Trading (Bristol)

And here is some information about starting a food group:

Food Co-op Toolkit