The coalition of organisations that make up Islington Food Poverty Alliance are coming together to support residents across the Borough to start their own local food cooperatives.

This is an introductory session that anyone can join to hear more about this very simple way to reduce your household costs, and receive around £18 worth of food for just £3 per week.

We are running a few sessions on different dates, so please sign up to the date that works best for you:

• Friday 11th December (online) – 6pm-7.30pm
• Monday 14th December (online) – 1pm-2.30pm
• Friday 15th January (online and in person TBC) – 6pm-7.30pm
• Friday 22nd January (online and in person TBC) – 1pm-2.30pm

What is a food co-operative?

A food co-operative is a group that comes together to give people access to food (and other household items) at affordable prices. A food co-op describes different types of approaches but in Islington we are encouraging local residents to join or start up their own food buying groups.

The way a food buying group works is simple – the group decides on what items the group wants to buy and how much each member should contribute. By pooling the money, co-ops can purchase large amounts of food at wholesale prices. As a co-op you can also register with local shops, supermarkets, restaurants and food suppliers to get deliveries of surplus food – food that is perfectly edible but is excess, on its sell-by date or out of season.

Each co-op is owned and run by its members, so you decide together how to manage yourselves, how much your membership fee is, what you want to buy, and you share the management responsibilities together.

How can I get involved?

Anyone can start or join a Food Co-op with their neighbours, school, network, workplace or local friends. Co-ops are led by their members, but we’re here to provide guidance on getting started.

If you can't attend these sessions but are still interested in hearing more, please fill in this short form to register your interest, and the organisation nearest you will get in touch to support you. Alternatively you can email us at MGAssistance@manorgardenscentre.org or call 07483 149 519 to speak to someone.

You can also join our Islington Local Food Co-operatives Network Facebook Group to start chatting to others in Islington who might be interested in starting or joining a local co-operative.

If you’re an organisation interested in getting involved, please instead sign up to our Food Cooperative Training for Frontline Staff sessions, or contact us at MGAssistance@manorgardenscentre.org for more details.

How we can help you to set up

We are here to help you set up your own Food Co-op in Islington, and we’re working with Co-operation Town who will be delivering these sessions. Visit their website to see their online Starter Pack and other resources.

We can help you by:

• Providing guidance to residents interested in learning more, and starting or joining a local co-op, including online and in person introduction sessions
• Offering space for you to receive deliveries and pack bulk food into household bags
• Connecting you to free surplus food and bulk suppliers so you can access the best and most affordable food
• Supporting your co-op to set up, for example providing equipment and stationery, PPE, money tins, printing, etc.
• Supporting you and your co-op members to access any other support you may need, for example ensuring households have the cooking equipment they need, or support with accessing benefits, or getting online