Re: Food Co-ops Can Save $$

[Guest guest]

Please contact me privately, since I started a food co-op in my county in PA

and there are things such as business issues that you need to be aware of and

other issue to ensure that you don't run into problems.

I have a background in insurance law and in writing grants and there are many

areas of helpful resources that people just don't look at.

Good Luck,

[Guest guest]

I see there has already been some good info on food co-ops, and I don't really

have much to add to it. I've pulled together little co-ops and run them for many

years. If anyone has specific questions, just ask, and I'll help you out the

best I can.

Otoh, if you're the only one you know who needs stuff, your health food store

may be able to special order gfcf foods for you in bulk. For example, I've been

paying $3.57 for one-pound boxes of potato starch flour, and that's pretty

expensive for an ingredient I use 3 times a day. I asked my hfs about ordering

it in bulk, and the owner was able to find a 50-pound bag for $61.87. Shipping

will cost $30 because it's coming from the west coast and I'm on the east coast.

Still, that's only $1.84 per pound -- just a little over half price! A little

research showed that potato starch flour stores well. I figure I'll pack it into

gallon freezer bags and store it someplace relatively cool.

Also, I'm used to using fresh-ground whole wheat for all our baking, buying the

wheatberries and running them through a friend's grain mill. I notice the brown

rice flour and such I'm buying in the hfs is not very fresh, so we've decided to

invest in our own grain mill. We can buy dried organic garbanzo beans, fava

beans, brown rice, etc., in bulk from the hfs, and grind our own flour each

week. Buying the beans and rice in bulk and grinding my own flour saves a lot of

money, too.

Would love to read others' tips on saving money!

Lis