Printable View
does anybody on the forum shop here?
http://www.fareshares.org.uk/
i've never been but it sounds pretty awesome to me :)
in fact i really like the idea of co-operatives and volunteer run organisations like the cowley club in brighton or pogo cafe in hackney, can anybody recommend any other similar projects that vf members should check out?
I have heard of it but not been. I ought to go because although it sounds as if it's a long way from SW London it isn't really - seems to be near Elephant and Castle.
Infinity Foods in Brighton is another co-op I go to when I can, and you can buy their stuff in other shops. Suma is a co-op who only used to do wholesale/bulk but they now seem to have an on-line retail store - hurray. And then there's the Co-op, of course, and John Lewis/Waitrose - probably not quite what you have in mind but employee-owned I think.
ohh how could i forget infinity foods ! it's so nice being able to shop in a supermarket and never have to worry about the ingredients in their food yep i love it :)
yup, i got to fareshares quite often - great way to avoid wastage and keep costs down.
i live very near it, but only been once just before they closed for the day so they didn't have a lot of stuff left. yeah, they're really good in terms of prices and what they sell. but i find the opening hours very inconvenient, for some reason i can never make it there on time and end up going to tesco :(
i'm hoping to get there this week though :)
aye, but it's good for the local community in that because the "staff" are unwaged, and the building is a squat, they can keep prices down.Quote:
Annie M. Green
The bookshop at the back is good, too.
yeah, i think what they're doing is great and really helpful and I would like to see more places like this. and the way I can never get there in time is really only my fault with my weird timetables. so i don't see any problems or disadvantages with this kind of a shop, really. I think it's the way it should be everywhere, don't you?
I saw a flyer about some sort of co-op set to open in my area soon, but I haven't heard much more about it. Never mind, just found some more info. People's Supermarket Camden.
Article on it.
Bryan, is everything in fareshares sold in bulk? I'm never really down that way, but I do like buying in bulk. (I usually go to Unpackaged for that.)
Sorry for offtopic..
2mariana, how's Unpackaged? I think their idea is awesome and was meaning to go check it out, but the thing if that it's far from where I live, so to actually go shopping there would mean I would have to take at least 3 hours to do grocery shopping (although if i can buy in bulk i could buy stuff to last for a few weeks or so). Also, is it cheaper to shop there than somewhere else?
It's a really nicely presented little shop, but I don't know if it would be worth a 3+ hour shopping trip! Maybe if you were in the area--you could combine it with a trip to Vx, for example. I'm not sure about the prices. A lot of their products are fair trade and/or organic, so probably more expensive than conventionally grown. I mostly buy spices from there, because I only need small amounts of some spices and don't fancy buying an entire bottle that will lose flavour before I can use it, but I'm not sure how the prices compare ounce for ounce with buying from the supermarket.Quote:
Annie M. Green
shame about their prices because unpackaged sounds like quite a nice place. you know what annie you could do the three hour shopping mission and imagine you are in lord of the rings? then it would be FUN. people's supermarket is a great idea as well!
All their dry goods (grains, pulses, seeds, nuts etc) is in bulk,but they also have bioD washing up liquid, rice milk, toothpaste, tofu and loads more. Everything there is vegan (so i'm sure will be more suitable than the "people's supermarket"!).Quote:
mariana
Also, I went to Unpackaged once and didn't buy anything - far too overpriced. seems to be aiming for their (obviously) wealthy Islingtonite neighbours, rather than opening well-priced bulk food buying up to the masses.
That's awesome! I didn't know it was fully vegan, that's great.Quote:
bryzee86
Sorry, off topic again... Just to clarify about Unpackaged--I don't really know if they're more expensive than other places. I wouldn't want Annie to go there expecting them to be cheaper and then waste 3 hours of her time, but I'm not certain they're more expensive than other places as I haven't compared, and I don't want to put anyone off going when I'm not 100% certain. I've only ever purchased stuff there that I wouldn't buy elsewhere so I don't really know about the prices (i.e. I bought a smallish amount of cayenne there for 8p, which is cheaper than you'd pay for a bottle in the supermarket, but it was also a smaller amount). I didn't do the maths, but it seemed to me that buying almonds there would be more expensive than buying a massive bag of them at an Asian market (where I usually buy them) but possibly less per gram than buying a smaller bag in Sainsbury's, Tesco, etc.
i think we need to start a new thread for Unpackaged :)
I did imagine it being a bit more expensive than it actually should be. I don't want to pay more just to be able to do less damage to the environment, that doesn't seem very right to me. Maybe I will go there for spices, actually, some time.
In the meanwhile, today I'm finally going to go to fareshares and check it out for myself :) I'll let you know how it went :)
Update: Went to fareshares today with my bags and boxes for stuff but ended up buying just the kingsfisher toothpaste (£2.28, very good value, I think). I was gonna buy some veggies or fruit, because I don't need anything else at the moment but when I checked the prices I realised that I can get same stuff for lower price at the market, and since every penny counts with me at the mo, I decided to go to the market (my local is East Street Market which I hate because it always stinks of the several fish and meat stalls, but otherwise i's good). I would've probably paid the prices if the fruit/veggies were locally grown, too, but i think the closest thing to local was suffolk. I would've expected the guys running the shop to source something closer to London. I think they are organic though, so that explains the higher price, I guess. I do prefer buying something better for the planet for a bit more money, but I just can't spare the extra few quid now.
I'd say that some things like beans or soy milk can be bought for a lower price at those nasty corporate supermarkets, but it's better not to, right? Some things like tofu, fake meats and trek/nakd bars and stuff are cheaper though, so i'll definitely be going back :)
it's too late mariana @ veganforum.com you have said it now, you can't take it back. i'm going in there to tell them you've been slagging them off over the internet :PQuote:
mariana
Oh no! :eek::p Good thing they don't know who I am. This is the advantage of having half my face covered in my profile pic. ;):pQuote:
twinkle toes