Australian Fair Food Forum

Starting a bulk buying group - tips please!

Connecting Food Hubs
#1

We’ve seen an upsurge in interest about bulk food buying groups lately, particularly following on from the war on waste series. (e.g. keen interest in the Westies dry good buying group https://openfoodnetwork.org/au/learn/story/westies-dry-goods-buying-group/)

That article details the nitty gritty of the Westies’ experience in setting up a group, and I think it’d be great to point people to a few more resources on how to run a group - are there resources you’d recommend?

It would also be awesome to get quick thoughts from those who do run buying groups on what they think was really important in setting up their group, what they’d do differently, where people should start, etc. @CynthiaLim and @jademiles2 I imagine you’d both have some great insights.

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#2

Hey Jen, I think having clear expectations/rules in place to start off is important. In our group (New Plymouth, NZ 48 families) we order dry goods monthly and produce every fortnight. We work with around 14 suppliers which includes meat too, some of these suppliers are every 2-3 months.

  1. Ordering requirements: Everyone in our group needs to place an order every month with the exception of if they are away for 3 weeks or more. min order $75 (everyone easily does this). This gains commitment.
  2. How often you need them to help sort, I love this about our group everyone is always willing to help. I co ordinate our group voluntary, I think it works well because like Kemmy says in her article you can do it when it suits you and are not relying on others. (I get 6 helpers to sort each month and it takes 2 hours). I spend time before hand setting things up and the next day breaking boxes and getting my garage back in order!
  3. Payments, I have never had a problem and expect payment within 48 hours
  4. Pick up time: I leave my garage open and people collect, everyone must collect on this day unless they have arranged with me. You don’t want to be waiting around for pick ups :slight_smile:

It is such a great way to meet people with similar values.

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#3

Thanks for those recommendations @Lucinda :slight_smile: Sounds like you’ve got it running super smoothly! Do you have a site or social media where people can read more about your group?

#4

Hi Jen, great that you’re seeing more interest in bulk buying groups after war on waste (what a great show!)

We have a pretty amazing bulk buying community here in Brisbane, and last year I was lucky enough to be given a large number of resources that different groups have produced. They were written over the last few years as new groups were created and people experimented with different ways to run them. I spent some time putting them all together into a more general form that might help new groups get started. It’s available at: https://lettuceshare.org/docs/how_to_guide

I hope it helps someone who’s interested in starting a group, I’m always happy to chat about it too if people have questions.

thanks,
Malcolm

#5

Hi Jen

Simon here - also from Brisbane. I’m a member of West End Bulk Buyers and have been involved with a couple of other co-ops running under different models. Happy to chat if you’re still looking for answers or resources. Lettuceshare (see Malcolm’s post above) makes our bulk buying life a lot easier - I’d recommend considering it when starting a bulk buyers’ group. From my experience, challenges arise from people having a limited amount of time to commit. I’ve found that the same issues come up again and again - so it’s important to have good structures in place for decision-making and communication. Also - be creative when seeking suppliers. Small local producers add diversity to your food boxes. The capacity for members to grow/make/supply their own goods to the group is another great opportunity.

Simon

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#6

Clone Kemmy!

Seriously, I’m in this group and it is one of the best things in my life. My big tip (from watching Kemmy operate) is to not wait to tell folks off - politely of course - when they’re not playing the game. It becomes real unfun real quick if people start taking advantage so having clear enforced guidelines is important. Now I better finish my order off!