I was wondering if anyone saw that show on TV where there were people (a neighborhood) who had joined this Food Club and food like flour, sugar, froozen veggies ( no milk or meat) was shipped to a house and a woman divided everyones order up. I was wanting to look into that and see if there were real saving there, we sorta live out away from town and I thought maybe if it was worth it my neighbors would give it a try. Just a thought ok thanks.
Food Club?
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FarmerChick
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Sounds very interesting and I never heard of it....but shipping cost would be rough I would think??? Anything heavy like 100 lbs of flour to ship would cost a bunch?
Just wondering if the bulk price would be soooo low that it could compensate shipping?
Then the time required to re-bag or tupperware out portions. Hmm...more work, nah, I will pass...HA HA HA HA
Just wondering if the bulk price would be soooo low that it could compensate shipping?
Then the time required to re-bag or tupperware out portions. Hmm...more work, nah, I will pass...HA HA HA HA
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From what I saw it wan't big barrels of flour, it was like what the store gets, individual bags of flour. All the lady on TV was doing is seperating everyones order. I was just wanting to know if anyone had seen it. I couldn't seem to find it on the internet. Ok Thanks.
FarmerChick
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oh I got ya, that makes more sense to me...just put in a huge order and great high volume discounts....sounds like alot less work also...LOL-LOL
can't wait to hear if other posters have heard of it
can't wait to hear if other posters have heard of it
annmarie
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I'm in one! They're very popular here in New England. I can't speak for all "buying clubs" or "food co-ops" but here's how mine works. There's a company in the area (actually several hours away) that is basically a grocery distributor. They issue monthly catalogs that the club members subscribe to, usually about $20 a year (I share my subscription with a woman I work with, so I only pay $10 a year). After going through the catalogs and picking out what we want we place our order with the club leader, who then has to call in or email the distribution company. Once a month, the company sends a truckload with all of our orders, as well as the orders of all the other food clubs in our vicinity. Each club has a drop off point, we use a members garage, and we all meet there and break open all the boxes and get our stuff, kind of like Christmas! 
Everything is much cheaper that way, since there's no middle man. Our particular distributor offers bulk quantities and regular quantities. I often split up bulk quantities with friends in the club, so we can pay the low price but not be forced to figure out how to use 50 pounds of flour before it gets wormy! Anyway, I highly reccomend you all look into this if you're not already involved in one. I guess the toughest part would be finding a distributor that offers this in your general vicinity. Scour the internet and maybe you'll find something.
This comes from the website for our distributor:
WHAT IS A BUYING CLUB?
Although Associated Buyers is a privately owned entity, the company's origins are deeply rooted in cooperative business principles and ethics that compliments our long-standing tradition of serving Buying Club accounts throughout New England. Buying Clubs are comprised of individuals and families ordering collectively to achieve a bulk purchasing advantage. Aside from the time and devotion involved in the buying club process, there are many benefits to this arrangement not the least of which is access to high quality, wholesome foods at affordable prices. Beyond the monetary advantage there is often a sense of community that belonging to an organization of like-minded people generates. Many clubs are neighbors, mother's groups, co-workers, young couples, church members, family members.
http://www.assocbuyers.com/aboutus/buyingclub.shtml
Everything is much cheaper that way, since there's no middle man. Our particular distributor offers bulk quantities and regular quantities. I often split up bulk quantities with friends in the club, so we can pay the low price but not be forced to figure out how to use 50 pounds of flour before it gets wormy! Anyway, I highly reccomend you all look into this if you're not already involved in one. I guess the toughest part would be finding a distributor that offers this in your general vicinity. Scour the internet and maybe you'll find something. This comes from the website for our distributor:
WHAT IS A BUYING CLUB?
Although Associated Buyers is a privately owned entity, the company's origins are deeply rooted in cooperative business principles and ethics that compliments our long-standing tradition of serving Buying Club accounts throughout New England. Buying Clubs are comprised of individuals and families ordering collectively to achieve a bulk purchasing advantage. Aside from the time and devotion involved in the buying club process, there are many benefits to this arrangement not the least of which is access to high quality, wholesome foods at affordable prices. Beyond the monetary advantage there is often a sense of community that belonging to an organization of like-minded people generates. Many clubs are neighbors, mother's groups, co-workers, young couples, church members, family members.
http://www.assocbuyers.com/aboutus/buyingclub.shtml
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annmarie
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Not at all hard, look what I just found! (Don't be discouraged if you live in a very rural area, I do, and I think most buying clubs are rural or small town located.)
http://www.unitedbuyingclubs.com/RESOURCES/FABC/FABC_Home.htm
http://www.coopdirectory.org/distributor.htm
Even if the list says they don't service your area, if they're in a neighboring state, it wouldn't hurt to ask since I'm sure they'd be interested in expanding their territory if it seems like there's an interest.
http://www.unitedbuyingclubs.com/RESOURCES/FABC/FABC_Home.htm
http://www.coopdirectory.org/distributor.htm
Even if the list says they don't service your area, if they're in a neighboring state, it wouldn't hurt to ask since I'm sure they'd be interested in expanding their territory if it seems like there's an interest.
the simple life
Yard Farmer
Annmarie, where do you live in New England? I am in Massachusetts. Just curious. I don't know of any clubs around my area, but that not to say there aren't any.
annmarie
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Natalie,
I live in Vermont, pretty much right on the VT/NH border. I just took a look at my catalog and the company we use travels to what appears to be all of VT, MA, ME, NH, most of RI and CT. Here's the link to their site http://www.assocbuyers.com/aboutus/buyingclub.shtml
Even if there isn't a group in your town, don't be intimidated to start your own. I believe our minimum order per month that we must reach to get them to deliver to us is $300, and there are only about 5 of us that ever order at a time, and we've never had a problem reaching that $300 minimum. If you and a few neighbors, or family members, co-workers, church group, whatever want to do it, then you have a food club! I don't believe we pay them any kind of fee, your fee is just the subscription to the monthly catalog, which you could even share with someone. I highly reccomend it! I believe the "united buying clubs" also covers your area, which I'm less familiar with, but I think has a good reputation. Let me know if you go ahead with it. I hope you do!
Ann-Marie
