Bulk Buying Club Best Practices Toolkit - The Food Security Network ...

Introduction
What is a Bulk Buying Club?
A bulk buying club is a group of people with similar
food preferences who come together to buy food in
bulk. All participants of a bulk buying club are
involved in the planning, shopping, sorting, and
delivering of food. These clubs enable individuals to
work with a group of like-minded people to get
more with their food dollars.
All Bulk Buying Clubs have the same underlying
purpose: to provide nutritious food at a lower cost
for a group of people.
Note: A Focus on Bulk Buying Clubs
There are three common types of bulk buying programs: Food Box
Programs, Food Cooperatives, and Bulk Buying Clubs.
Food box programs are typically managed by a third-party agency that
buys food in bulk and distributes food boxes to members for a fee.
Food cooperatives are legally incorporated cooperative organizations
where members are owners, which gives them access to lower priced
food purchased in bulk by the cooperative.
Bulk buying clubs are often smaller, more informal groups of friends or
neighbours that come together to buy food in bulk to save money.
This toolkit is focused on the bulk buying club model and highlights
examples from the Brighter Futures Level Best Bulk Buying Clubs across
Newfoundland and Labrador.
See Appendix N: Important Links and Resources (page 49) for more
information about Brighter Futures Coalition St. John‟s and District.
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