Food Co-Op in East London
Proud to serve the local community
Every year our Food Co-op in East London facilitates around 3000 customer visits.
We are proud to be a best practice model for other local community organisations to replicate.
Join us on Thursdays 11.30am – 2.20pm
Come & buy your food at our food co-op in East London
affordable and nutritious food
Enjoy our selection of affordable and nutritional organic and non-organic fresh fruit and vegetables and Fair-trade dried fruits and foods.
be more sustainable
We are deeply committed to local sourcing, zero waste, zero plastic and reducing our and your carbon footprint
LOCAL AND ACCESSIBLE
We are local and accessible – no need to jump on a train or bus and fight the queues in large supermarkets
keeping it local
We are part of the same community, we offer you opportunities to connect with other services – stay and play, welfare advice, youth and well-being groups
donations available
Food donations are available to those who needs them (dependent on available donations received)
What people say about coming to our food co-op
“It’s very, very good quality, very good price, very environmentally friendly.”
St. Hilda’s East Food Co-op Service User
Feeding our local community
Our Food Co-op in East London is St. Hilda’s East’s longest standing project, having existed for eighteen years. It’s held weekly throughout the year, come rain or shine, offering fresh fruit and vegetables at affordable prices to the local community. The produce on offer is locally sourced, highly nutritious and culturally appropriate.
Food Co-op also offers healthy eating and nutritional advice, including leaflets on recipes and the benefits of seasonal fruit and veg. We provide surplus ingredients to St. Hilda’s Monthly Cooking Club.
We also work with external organisations to deliver wellbeing related activities and energy saving and efficiency awareness including the distribution of, and education about, slow cookers and CO alarms.
Who runs the Food Co-op in East London?
The Food Co-op has always been volunteer-led; it is an enterprise where friendships are built across diverse cultural and social backgrounds and an interest in food is a common passion.
Volunteers receive valuable supervised ‘on the job’ experience and placements. We offer free training opportunities for Food Co-op volunteers, including short courses in Food Safety Level 2, First Aid and Customer Service Skills.
We are proud to collaborate with local businesses
New Spitalfields Market
Sarah Green’s Organics
Supplies most of our organic vegetables, delivered direct from the farm in Essex to the Food Co-op every week. A wide range of organic vegetables are available at the Food Co-op all year round.
Organic farming means that the use of chemicals to feed the crops or kill weeds and insects are kept to a minimum. If any chemicals are used, they are generally made from natural ingredients. This helps to maintain a habitat in which wildlife can thrive. You can find out more about Sarah Green’s Organics here.
Spitalfields City Farm
Folx Farm
Zaytoun
We also stock regular supplies of dry products such as dates, almonds, olive oil and maftoul from Zaytoun, a social enterprise founded to support Palestinian farmers through fair trade. You can find out more about Zaytoun here.
Suma
Suma supplies our small range of quality whole foods offered at trade prices to Food Co-op customers. Suma is a workers’ co-operative – a radical business managed and owned by its workers. They are also the largest independent supplier of whole foods in the UK. You can find out more about Suma here.
Find out more about
St. Hilda’s East
volunteer
We offer varied volunteering opportunities for both individuals and corporate teams.
Our History & Values
Find out more about the 135-year history of St. Hilda’s East, our connection to Cheltenham Ladies’ College and what we aim to achieve
what's on
Find out more about what’s on for the local community in East London.