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I am currently part of a scheme to buy groceries wholesale with 38 people. I eat for a week for $30. We are expanding, it is all voluntary. There is a potential

by derrida 15y ago

I am currently part of a scheme to buy groceries wholesale with 38 people. I eat for a week for $30. We are expanding, it is all voluntary. There is a potential here for a startup that simply wants to connect people to partake in such a scheme. I have found people knowing about it is sufficient for participation.

hugh3 15y ago
We are expanding, it is all voluntary I'm glad you mentioned it was voluntary. You had me worried there for a moment.
- pagekalisedown 15y ago
  I think he meant that they're not being paid.
  - derrida 15y ago
    Yep.
- earbitscom 15y ago
  I am starting one that is involuntary. Your card has been charged. Please pick up your groceries.
karolisd 15y ago
Can you expand a little on this scheme? How is it organized? I just have a hard time imaging it working, but it sounds like it's working for you.
- derrida 15y ago
  At the moment it is organized over an e-list, but there is definitely potential for it to be organized using a database and web front end. At the moment, people in the scheme know at least 2 other people, and it works on solidarity and trust. It requires participation from everybody, but like I said above, this participation is less overall work than if everybody went and bought their groceries themselves. Every monday 2 people in the scheme drive to the wholesale markets at 6am, buy from a list (with requests from previous week), and return by 8am with the vegetables,fruit and grains in a central location. The material is then divided up into boxes based on size. Everybody gets the same stuff. Since there is variety, there is little waste.
revorad 15y ago
That is a brilliant idea. How do you decide where to buy from and what brands to buy? How do you split the payments? How do you distribute the groceries?
- derrida 15y ago
  We buy from the wholesale fruit and vegetable market in our area. Being in the scheme means once every few weeks you have to go to the wholesale markets at 6am and buy from a list. Then it is bought to a central location and distributed into boxes that people come to pick up. It actually takes less time then everybody doing their own shopping. As for people getting what they want, people can put in requests for certain grains/fruits/vegetables. But most people don't mind what comes anymore, since we are no longer penny pinching, a huge variety of stuff comes with every delivery sufficient to make a wide variety of meals. Where I live, everybody does their own cooking, which I hear is different to North America. (I live in Sydney, groceries are actually more expensive here than the US and $30 AU > $30 US, so don't think this won't work where you live.) Also, when I say I eat for a week for $30, that is not entirely correct. I live with 4 other people. We all eat for a week for $30. So now I buy the nice Bourbon. If anybody lives around Surry Hills, Sydney and is so inclined, message me and you can join. I have been thinking about how to expand it with minimum effort. It'd be really interesting to have some hackers involved.

by derrida 15y ago

hugh3 15y ago

We are expanding, it is all voluntary I'm glad you mentioned it was voluntary. You had me worried there for a moment.

pagekalisedown 15y ago
I think he meant that they're not being paid.
- derrida 15y ago
  Yep.
earbitscom 15y ago
I am starting one that is involuntary. Your card has been charged. Please pick up your groceries.

karolisd 15y ago

Can you expand a little on this scheme? How is it organized? I just have a hard time imaging it working, but it sounds like it's working for you.

derrida 15y ago
At the moment it is organized over an e-list, but there is definitely potential for it to be organized using a database and web front end. At the moment, people in the scheme know at least 2 other people, and it works on solidarity and trust. It requires participation from everybody, but like I said above, this participation is less overall work than if everybody went and bought their groceries themselves. Every monday 2 people in the scheme drive to the wholesale markets at 6am, buy from a list (with requests from previous week), and return by 8am with the vegetables,fruit and grains in a central location. The material is then divided up into boxes based on size. Everybody gets the same stuff. Since there is variety, there is little waste.

revorad 15y ago

That is a brilliant idea. How do you decide where to buy from and what brands to buy? How do you split the payments? How do you distribute the groceries?

derrida 15y ago
We buy from the wholesale fruit and vegetable market in our area. Being in the scheme means once every few weeks you have to go to the wholesale markets at 6am and buy from a list. Then it is bought to a central location and distributed into boxes that people come to pick up. It actually takes less time then everybody doing their own shopping. As for people getting what they want, people can put in requests for certain grains/fruits/vegetables. But most people don't mind what comes anymore, since we are no longer penny pinching, a huge variety of stuff comes with every delivery sufficient to make a wide variety of meals. Where I live, everybody does their own cooking, which I hear is different to North America. (I live in Sydney, groceries are actually more expensive here than the US and $30 AU > $30 US, so don't think this won't work where you live.) Also, when I say I eat for a week for $30, that is not entirely correct. I live with 4 other people. We all eat for a week for $30. So now I buy the nice Bourbon. If anybody lives around Surry Hills, Sydney and is so inclined, message me and you can join. I have been thinking about how to expand it with minimum effort. It'd be really interesting to have some hackers involved.