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To join the Casterbridge Food Co-op please email: cfc(at)transitiontowndorchester(dot)org

Transition Towns put a strong emphasis on supporting local businesses and local food producers and as part of that drive comes the idea of a food buying co-operative.


If you currently buy organic food, wholefoods or other specialist items at the supermarket, you may wish instead to buy these products from local suppliers.  Casterbridge Food Co-operative members are able to buy such items directly from manufacturers and wholesalers, saving money and reducing their reliance on large food retailers. Initially we set up an account with 'Essential Wholefoods' in Bristol, but we are now developing links with a variety of local producers who are able to supply us in bulk, at prices which are attractive to both us and them..

Aims
The Casterbridge Food Co-operative (CFC) has been formed to allow its members to order both organic and local food as well as other items directly from a variety of suppliers at attractive prices by buying in bulk. The benefit to food producers is that they can supply CFC members with bulk orders at prices which are higher than their usual wholesale price.

Your account number
After we have your details you will be given an account number for trading with CFC. This is to help us tie orders and payments to your name, so please make a note of it.

The ordering process

• You will normally receive your order form by e-mail
• You have a set period to place your order along with your payment up to the 'last orders' date
• We then allow a period for everyone's payment to clear and be credited to the CFC account
• When we can confirm that we have received all the money, the order is placed with our suppliers
• The order is delivered to a single drop off point and made ready for collection on the 'collect orders' date
  
  Co-op members should note that you have the opportunity to place orders in January, March, May, July, September and November each year.

What can I order?
You can order anything from the suppliers listed on your order form. Some of our suppliers have websites, where you can view their stock and price lists. Other food producers have provided a quote to which they agree to supply CFC members.

Payment
If you complete your order using the spreadsheet version, it will automatically calculate the total for you and add the 5% that the CFC charges to cover administration costs. Our preferred method of payment is an online BACS transfer, but alternative methods can be arranged if you wish to speak with a member of the committee. If you are writing a cheque, please make sure that you write your account number and month on the back.

I'm not on the internet!
If we don't have an e-mail address for you, your form can be posted out to you.

Collecting groups
We suggest talking with other members in your local area to arrange a group collection.

To Join

To join the Casterbridge Food Cooperative please email the following details

1. Name of the person on the account:
2. Email address:
3. Address:
4. Phone number:
   
   

ARCHIVE OF CFC EVENTS:

Casterbridge Food Co-op AGM - 31st March 2009

The first CFC Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held in the Colliton Club, Dorchester on 31st March at 7:30pm
All the committee posts were up for election and the direction of the co-operative was discussed.
Thanks to everyone that attended...

Here's a few member comments:
Members who participated in the first order were keen to air their views, so here is a selection of the points that were raised:

“I can buy item X more cheaply elsewhere...”
The CFC is run as a not-for-profit co-operative and passes goods from Essential Wholefoods on to you at cost price plus 5%. However other retailers sometimes enjoy much larger wholesale margins than we do, so there is no guarantee that every item will be the lowest price around. As with anything else that you buy, it's important that you compare our prices with other sources! We are, however, keen to be as up-front as possible – so if you find something cheaper elsewhere let us know and we will put it into the next newsletter.

“Where's the local produce?”
It's coming soon! Dealing in produce from truly local suppliers was one area that CFC members called for in the very first meeting in the Colliton Club. Essential Wholefoods has served well as a 'pathfinding' exercise to set up a bank account and basic constitution, and to make sure that we could cope with handling and accounting for goods. Now that's out of the way we're sure everyone is keen to move towards more local trade – so if you have bright ideas come along to the horsetrading evening and shout your corner. Remember, the co-operative is only the sum of its members!
To get the ball rolling with local foods we have the opportunity to buy a case of 24 jars of Purbeck Honey from Rob Hogben in Dorchester at a knock-down price, and should have details for you by horsetrading night (we'll mail them out too). We are also investigating locally produced meat boxes, and also half- and whole lambs. If you are interested please let us know so we can get some idea of what buying power we have.

“I got some really good deals!”
Members who read carefully and did their sums were able to scoop some bargains in the first order cycle, particularly if they bought larger packs. To name a few; Meridian peanut butter, lentils, brazil nuts and Clipper instant coffee were all cheaper than the non-organic versions from Tesco. It pays to do your homework!

“Those Stute cranberry juice drinks (J631P) were really horrible.”
It's true. Sometimes you come across a really duff item – if you do and would like to warn other members, let us know and we'll mention it in the newsletter. You'll be doing everyone a favour.

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