Against a backdrop of rising costs and greater food insecurity, a co-operative group established in Splott has created a sustainable model to help people access healthy, affordable food.
Splo-down offers its 90 members weekly veg and fruit bags, along with loose items such as pasta, rice and coffee, all paid for on a sliding scale to make it affordable to all. Food is sourced from local wholesalers, with supplies bought in bulk to keep costs low.
While many community projects rely on constant fundraising and grant applications, Splo-down covers its operating costs through membership fees, which start at £3 per year, and income from produce sales. The system is not-for-profit and balances financially, with any surplus reinvested into the project.
Membership and access to fresh affordable food is open to anyone in Splott, Adamsdown and Tremorfa as well as asylum seekers and refugees from across Cardiff.
Splo-down organiser and volunteer member, Ali Taherzadeh explained: “When Splo-down community food co-op was set up in 2020 by a group of neighbours, we based it on the belief that everyone deserves fresh, good quality food which they have a choice over. We make this possible firstly by ordering in bulk – not surplus food from supermarkets but fresh food from good quality wholesalers. Each week, a small group of our members takes it in turn to wake up at the crack of dawn to go to the vegetable wholesaler to buy big boxes and bags of fresh veg based on how many veg box orders we have. By putting together our purchasing power we can get cheaper prices. This then goes into our weekly veg bags and stocking our zero-waste shop for groceries.
“We then sell to our members based on a sliding scale – those who can afford less pay less, those who can afford more pay more, but everyone gets the same food.”
Splo-down has also been supported by others in the community, with neighbouring project Splott Community Volunteers lending the van used to collect from the wholesalers and Cardiff Council providing a rent-free site. A crowdfunder and some grants were used during the project’s establishment to cover costs such as the on-site container, which operates as the zero-waste refill shop for dried goods, and a marquee.
In setting up and operating the system, the team of volunteers running the project has learned many lessons which they are now working to pass on to help other similar groups. They recently collaborated with Food Cardiff, the city’s Sustainable Food Partnership, to create a video case study sharing the key principles of their successful project.
Tips shared in the film include:
- The co-operative approach works best in a diverse neighbourhood where differing levels of income support the sliding scale model. All members are treated equally and have access to the same food, regardless of which level they pay.
- Buying in bulk and taking orders in advance ensures the team are efficient in their purchasing, avoiding waste, and can pass on the savings made to members. This applies to fruit and veg, as well as dried foods and household clearing products.
- All core costs are covered through memberships and the sliding scale system. Memberships are also on a pay-what-you-can sliding scale. Grants have been used for larger expenditure, but operating costs are always covered by the membership.
- Working with the community makes the model work – from the loan of the van, to the rent-free site, collaboration has been key.
- Everyone is a ‘member’. The group doesn’t differentiate between those who run and those who use the service. Everyone can get involved at whatever level suits them – from running the stall, cooking food for an event or helping out with the finances and ordering.
- Technology has helped to keep the co-op running smoothly. The team uses a database to manage members’ details, subscriptions and online orders. The system tells the team what to purchase and how many orders to prepare each week.
Lucinda Sehic, Food Cardiff co-ordinator, said: “Splo-down is a well-established, successful example of a community coming together to offer everyone access to healthy, affordable and appropriate food. As the driving force behind the good food movement in Cardiff, we are pleased to be supporting them in sharing their model and what they’ve learned along the way. We have an active network in Cardiff, and we hope to see more people inspired by the Splo-down model to ensure everyone across the city has the fresh food they need with the support of a strong community around them to help them to cook and enjoy it.”
