COMMUNITY GROUP BUY
LET’S BUY OUR FOOD TOGETHER.
The idea is simple:
We pool our grocery money together so we can buy wholesale directly from farmers.
Dozens of people have already signed up for our first 3-month pilot starting September 1st.
We’re building our first group of 100 people and families to try it with us.
WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN?
Our food system is under pressure, and we are ALL feeling it.
$75 of groceries in 2020 → nearly $110 today
1 in 4 Canadians → experiencing food insecurity
Over 46% of food in Canada → wasted
We are losing 15 BC farms every month
5 major retailers → control about 75% of Canadian grocery sales
Something needs to change.
Instead of waiting for someone else to fix it:
What can we do together?
HOW DOES THE GROUP BUY WORK?
It’s simple.
1. POOL OUR MONEY
Everyone contributes $100/month to a community buying pool.
2. BUY DIRECT
We use that money to buy food wholesale directly from farmers.
3. PICK UP YOUR SHARE
We bring the hauls back to my farm in Abbotsford, and everyone comes to grab their share.
WHY DOES THIS WORK?
Because together, we have more buying power.
Instead of each of us shopping individually, we pool our buying power and approach farmers as one large buyer.
That allows us to buy larger quantities directly from farmers at wholesale prices — something most of us simply can't do on our own.
Alone, we buy individually. Together, we have buying power.
WHY A PILOT?
This is a 3-month test run to learn what works, what doesn’t, and what we need to improve before making it bigger.
For now, we’re keeping it intentionally simple:
One pickup location.
Fruit and vegetables only.
Then we learn, make changes and build from there.
PROVE → LEARN → IMPROVE → GROW
WHAT ARE WE BUYING?
For the pilot, we’re focusing on fruit and vegetables.
We eat with the season.
When farmers have something available at good quality and a great price, that’s when we buy.
From September through November, that could include:
Apples, pears, peaches, plums, grapes, potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, beets, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, tomatoes, corn, squash, pumpkins, zucchini, cucumbers, kale, lettuce, leeks, celery, Brussels sprouts, turnips, rutabagas and more.
We’re not following a set grocery list.
We’re buying the opportunities that come up.
WHAT DO WE GET?
Every membership gets an equal share of each haul, roughly designed for 2–4 people.
There is no guaranteed weekly box or menu.
What we get depends on the opportunities we find.
WILL IT BE ORGANIC?
For the pilot, we’re keeping it open.
We’ll buy a mix of conventional, spray-free and organic produce, depending on what opportunities are available.
After the pilot, we can explore different buying groups, including a dedicated organic/spray-free group.
CAN I CHOOSE WHAT I GET?
For the pilot, there are no individual orders or substitutions.
We eat with the season and work with what’s available.
We absolutely want your feedback — your feedback will help us shape what this becomes.
HOW MUCH DO I GET?
We don’t know yet.
That’s part of what we’re testing with this pilot.
How much we get depends on the food, season, price, availability and opportunity.
Some hauls may be small.
Others could be 10, 20 or even 40 lbs of something.
Some hauls will be small. Some will be BIG.
WHAT KIND OF PRICES COULD WE GET?
Here are examples of the kinds of buying opportunities we could find:
PEACHES
$5/lb → $1/lb
CARROTS
$4/bunch → $1.25/bunch
APPLES
$3/lb → $1/lb
POTATOES
$9/bag → $2/bag
These aren't guaranteed prices.
They’re examples of the kinds of wholesale opportunities we'll be looking for.
HOW DOES PICKUP WORK?
1. WE ANNOUNCE THE HAUL ON WHATSAPP
When produce arrives, we’ll post an announcement in our new Community WhatsApp group.
We’ll tell you:
What arrived
How much each membership can take
When pickup starts
How long you have to pick it up
And anything else you need to know about the food.
2. COME TO THE FARM
Pickup is from our farm:
494 Sumas Way
Abbotsford, BC
Open daily from 12 PM–7 PM.
Pickup windows will generally be 1–5 days, depending on how sensitive the produce is.
3. PACK YOUR SHARE
Bring your own bags, boxes or containers.
The system is intentionally self-serve.
Grab your allocation → Pack it yourself → Head home.
4. CAN’T MAKE IT?
Send someone else to pick up your share for you.
If your share isn't picked up within the pickup window, the food will be redistributed or donated.
HOW OFTEN IS FOOD COMING?
We don’t know yet.
There could be multiple hauls in one week.
There could also be a week with none.
It depends on what opportunities come up.
That flexibility is an important part of the model — we buy when the opportunity makes sense.
WHAT COULD THIS TURN INTO?
MORE HUBS
First, we need to prove the model here in Abbotsford.
The bigger vision is to create Community Buying Hubs across the Lower Mainland, including:
Langley • Surrey • Vancouver • Chilliwack • and more
Imagine communities across the Lower Mainland pooling their buying power together.
MORE BUYING GROUPS
Produce is just where we’re starting.
Eventually, we could create separate community buying groups for:
Eggs • Meat • Organic/Spray-Free Produce • Dairy • Bulk Foods • Pantry Staples • and more
But first:
We prove the basic model works.
WHERE DOES MY MONEY GO?
We want to keep this simple and transparent.
90% → BUYING FOOD
The majority of the money goes directly into our community buying pool.
10% → RUNNING + BUILDING THE PROGRAM
This helps cover staff, space, infrastructure and administration.
I’m also excited that a portion of the 10% will go toward investing in other community projects and programs we’re building.
HOW DO I JOIN?
The pilot is:
$100/month
3 months
September → November
For this pilot, I’m asking everyone to commit to the full three months and pay $300 upfront.
We’re trying to keep this first version as easy to manage as possible.
With 100 members, collecting payments every month and sending payment reminders creates a lot of unnecessary work.
One payment. One 3-month commitment.
1. SEND $300 BY E-TRANSFER
IMPORTANT: Please include your FULL NAME in the e-Transfer message/notes.
2. JOIN THE WHATSAPP GROUP
Once you have paid, join the Community Group Buy WhatsApp
by clicking the below link
*PLEASE DO NOT JOIN THE WHATSAPP GROUP UNTIL YOU HAVE PAID.
WE CAN DO MORE TOGETHER.
Fresh, local food shouldn’t be a luxury.
At the heart of this experiment is a very simple idea:
We can do more together than we can alone.
This pilot starts with food.
Let’s see what happens when a community starts working together, pooling its resources and using its collective buying power.
Let’s see what we can build together.
Have a question I didn’t answer?
Send me an email - gagan@instaberry.ca