Nothing can beat the sweet juicy burst of a crisp grape, or the refreshing quench of eating watermelon. Ever heard of a golden beetroot, or seen purple carrots? Well, this is the type of produce you’ll find at the Redfern Organic Buyers Group Hub: fresh, in season and packed with flavour.
The Redfern Organic Buyers Group Hub is the community’s solution to rising grocery prices, sustainable consumption and providing equitable access to healthy food.
Members of the initiative meet every Monday evening at the Ron Williams Community Centre to divvy up fruit and vegetables delivered from wholesalers in Flemington.
At the most recent divvy on Monday, members left with bags and boxes bursting with spring onion, silverbeet, grapes, peaches, potatoes, purple carrots and yes, golden beetroot.
“The beauty of this is you get access to a much broader range of food, different varieties you can’t buy in shops,” said Danielle Northey, co-founder of Organic Buyers Group Sydney.
And the power of community grocery shopping means prices are lower for everyone. “We go straight to the wholesaler and we don’t need to pay somebody to pack the box – we’re doing it ourselves. Nobody needs to be paid to deliver it either because everybody comes here,” said Northey.
Boxes for members cost $46, while trial boxes cost $52. Members are under no obligation to participate every session, and non-members can purchase as many trial boxes as they wish. There is also a special membership rate for low-income households to ensure the initiative is inclusive of the whole community.
Those who wish to receive a box place an order online and help divide and pack the boxes at the pickup location on divvy day, a process that takes no more than 30 minutes. It’s become the perfect spot to connect with locals and exchange recipe ideas.
“When you order a box, you [get] all this beautiful, fresh produce and then you’ve gotta be creative with it,” said Northey. “I’ve learned about kale chips and what to do with beetroot – I’d never buy beetroot from the shops [before].”
All produce comes from farms along the Australian Eastern Seaboard, reducing food mileage and maximising freshness.
The produce at each divvy depends on what is in season and available. “Because it’s seasonal, it respects the laws of the earth and so everything has got more flavour,” said Northey. Being organic also means the produce is grown without pesticides and synthetic chemicals. “It’s about regenerating the soils and creating more healthy environments.”
Eleanor Whitworth, coordinator of the Redfern Organic Buyers Group Hub, enjoys meeting new parents from the local school and seeing children get involved. “It’s nice for children to have access to food in [this] way and be connected with their food. Even to understand what it’s like to see the packaging of the food and then to split it up,” said Whitworth. It’s hyperlocal in that way. That’s why it’s so community-focused.”
Redfern Organic Buyers Group Hub was launched late last year, following the success of nine other Organic Buyers Groups across Sydney. New groups are already in the works for the Northern Beaches and North Shore.
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Thank you Melanie for your lovely feedback! We’ve forwarded your message to Danielle 🙂
This is so fantastic! What a great way to connect with community, improve health through excellent nutrition and nurture the earth along the way.
On the surface this idea looks just like boxes of affordable good quality fruit and vegetables but I think what is really happening here is the making of friendships and community. This model allows for meeting, getting to know and understand people from different cultures and backgrounds, and the inoculation against loneliness for people that are isolated in our communities.
Danielle, what you are creating is so very much more than a good value box of fruit and veg. Every community needs this.
Congratulations on your initiative and success.
Can you please start a group in my area?