SHARE (Self-Help and Resource Exchange) grocery programs

[politicat]

I just found out about this, and I'm still deciding if I'm going to do it for ethical reasons of my own. I'd like to get off the corporate grocers we have here, but my alternatives are limited. So this may not be of use to me, but for some of the rest of you, it may be a key to getting off of the corporate grocer treadmill. Basically, the concept is a big group of people buys a group of items as a planned bulk purchase through a not-for-profit at cost and shares the cost. In some places, these programs are run by a not-for-profit; here, they're run by Catholic Charities (which is where some, but not all, of my ethical concerns come from).

There's still the matter of sourcing the food from the manufacturer, which means it could be ADM or General Mills or other... But for the concept of keeping the money out of Kroger's, Albertson's, Safeway's and Publix' hands, this is a place to start.

Vegetarians will probably want to call or go visit an office because the standard menus are rather meat oriented.

Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, use this link: http://www.sharecolorado.com/
Other SHARES can be found by searching on SHARE (Self-Help and Resource Exchange)

From the Colorado website:
What is SHARE?

The goal of SHARE is to help families save about 50% on their groceries, while encouraging the building of relationships with their neighbors in the community. There are no qualifications…if you eat, you qualify.

Who can participate?

Any one from the affluent to those with struggling budgets can participate in SHARE. You see, even those who can afford to spend more for food are being good stewards with their money by simply being more frugal. What’s more, the minimal profits in each share of food sold go to support this program and sometimes those who can’t even afford to buy a share. And if you’re really not interested in participating for whatever reason, we do take donations, and the donation for what we call a “sponsored share”. That means your donation goes to buy food for a neighbor in your community that needs help.

How does SHARE achieve this?

We select about twenty items that you’re most likely to buy at the grocery store, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and frozen meats. Then through a national affiliate network, we purchase massive quantities of these items at very low prices. At no time do we ever accept donated food for distribution. Then through a network of volunteers at our warehouse and distribution centers known as “host sites”, we deliver the food to these host sites where you pick up your order.

As a non-profit organization, SHARE relies heavily on volunteers and passes on the huge savings by our reduced expense. Unlike a traditional grocery store, we don’t maintain inventories, expensive stores, large employee bases, etc. We rely primarily on word of mouth advertising. Plus we’re in it for you, not for the organizations' profits.

You say build community? How?

Our host distribution sites are generally churches, senior centers, schools, community centers, etc. The experience of picking up your “Share” of food at the host site is almost like a community party. People begin to know each other and many meet new friends. Many love and support the program so much that they ask how they can help out next month! Actually we encourage 2 hours of volunteerism for every participant. We consider volunteering anything from working at the host site or warehouse, to babysitting, to sharing a meal with a neighbor or friend. Virtually anything that you do for anyone not in your immediate family for free is volunteering. Most people find that they’re already doing it without realizing it. With SHARE, we feed both the body and the Spirit.


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