Food Buying Clubs
People who live in “food
deserts”, areas with little or no access to
quality nutrition, may need to take matters into
their own hands. They can scout around for a
group of people who buy food in bulk, a buying
club, and if there is none they can start their
own. Schools, churches, and neighborhood groups
are great places to organize these buying clubs,
since members are already in regular contact as
part of their day to day lives.
There is a lot to consider when forming a buying
club: who will be a member, what kinds of food
will they want, where will it come from? Usually
these groups contact the regional distributor for
the nearest co-op or health food store and find
out the minimum order and pricing information.
Someone then needs to keep records and collect
money, put in the order, unload the truck, and
divide up the food. As EBT cards are generally
used in retail food stores, and generally not
accepted online or over the phone, special
arrangements may need to take place before food
stamp users can form a buying club. The thing is
to show the distributor that there is profit to
be made from serving EBT consumers. This usually
happens when a large enough group of customers
appear to justify expenditures on
approval,equipment, and training needed to accept
EBT.
If a distributor is completely unwilling to
accept EBT, perhaps members of the club who
cannot pay cash will be willing to take on
greater responsibilities within the club in
exchange for a share of the food.
To find a food buying club near you visit
http://www.coopdirectory.org/directory.htm
Here is a listing of distributors to get you
started
http://www.coopdirectory.org/distributor.htm
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