Coming soonThe Warren Food Collective
Good food, close to the price we pay for it
A collective buying scheme, not a shop. The Warren buys good, organic and sustainable food at trade prices, and members can buy it close to that price, with a small mark-up. Order online once a month and collect from us on a Thursday.
How it worksFour steps
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Apply
Anyone can apply, and there is no membership fee. Tell us a little about yourself below and we will be in touch.
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Order
When the order window is open, fill your basket online and pay by card. Change it as often as you like until it closes at midday on the Thursday a week before collection. The minimum is £50.
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Collect
We place one order with the supplier and pack yours. Collect it on a Thursday each month, 12pm to 2.30pm, or 5pm to 8pm at the Gathering.
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Stay active
Your membership stays active while you order. After 6 months without an order we may take you off the list, and you are welcome to apply again.
What you can buy
Packaged food from Essential Trading, to begin with
We start with Essential Trading, the workers' co-operative that already supplies our kitchen, and a small range of packaged food that keeps on a shelf. No chilled or fresh food and no household goods for now. Later, if members want them, other suppliers we trust.
The kind of thing you might order
- Porridge oats
- Brown rice
- Olive oil
- Peanut butter
- Nuts and seeds
- Dried fruit
- Tea
- Coffee
The full list, with prices, is coming soon.
Why The Warren
Because a building full of people can do this
On our own, we pay shop prices. Together, we buy like a business. The Warren already has the trade account, the deliveries and the space, so pooling the order through us gets everyone close to the price we pay. And the evening collection is the Gathering: drinks, some nibbles, and a night that finds its own way.
The dealIn plain words
- Who can join
- Anyone can apply. There is no membership fee.
- Prices
- Close to the trade price The Warren pays, with no retail mark-up. Card payment costs are passed on as they are, and shown before you pay.
- What is on the list
- Packaged food that keeps on a shelf, for now. No chilled food and no household goods.
- Orders
- Online, once a month, paid when you check out. Change your basket until the window closes at midday on the Thursday a week before collection. After that, orders are fixed.
- Minimum order
- £50
- If something is out
- We never swap it for something else. You get a credit or a refund for it.
- Collection
- On a Thursday each month, 12pm to 2.30pm or 5pm to 8pm, at 11 Mansel Street, Carmarthen
- The Gathering
- 5pm to 9pm. Drinks and nibbles, maybe some music or an open mic, and we let the night evolve.
- The community fund
- You can add a donation when you order. It is always optional and kept separate from the price of your food.
- Staying active
- Order at least once every 6 months
This is a collective buying scheme, not a shop. You collect in person from The Warren; we do not deliver.
A paid role2 to 4 hours a month
Could you run it?
We are looking for someone to coordinate the collective: putting the monthly order together, checking the delivery when it arrives on a Tuesday, and getting orders packed for collection. It is a paid role of around 2 to 4 hours a month, some of it from home, and the hours may grow with the collective.
Join the collective
Apply to join
There is no membership fee. Tell us a little about yourself and what you hope to get from the collective, and we will be in touch before the first order opens.