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 working with residents in Islington can join to hear more about this very simple model, so that you can introduce your clients to the opportunity. Food buying groups like this find that they can get around £18 worth of food for a £3 a week membership fee, in a way that is sustainable and led by residents themselves.

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

• Monday 30th November (online) – 10am-11.30am
• Friday 11th December (online) – 2pm-3.30pm
• Monday 21st December (online) – 2pm-3.30pm
• Friday 8th January (online) – 10am-11.30am
• Monday 11th January (online) - 4pm-5.30pm

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 your organisations can get involved

Please contact MGAssistance@manorgardenscentre.org if you're interested in talking more about how else you can get involved, but we will talk through this during this training.

We are here to help residents set up their own Food Co-ops 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.

In general, organisations signed up to the network can support residents in a number of different ways:

• 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 residents to receive deliveries and pack bulk food into household bags
• Connecting residents to free surplus food and bulk suppliers so they can access the best and most affordable food
• Supporting co-op to access our funding to set up, for example providing equipment and stationery, PPE, money tins, printing, etc.
• Supporting co-op members to access any other support they may need through this funding, for example ensuring households have the cooking equipment they need, or support with accessing benefits, or getting online

How can residents 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're a resident, please instead sign up to our Introduction To Islington Food Cooperatives For Residents. If you are interested in hearing more but can't attend these sessions, 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.