We’ve received several requests over the years to start a bulk food buying club before opening our brick and mortar store. Due to the logistics of managing bulk orders while building up our co-op we have not been able to fulfill this wish––until now! We are thrilled to announce that we have partnered with the CoFood Buying Club located at the Pioneer Valley Cohousing Community!
Common Share member-owners now have the opportunity to order bulk items through UNFI every month and pick up their orders at PV Cohousing at 120 Pulpit Hill Rd. in Amherst.
- Ordering takes place every four weeks with delivery the following week, always on Thursdays.
- Delivery of food items is to the community common house basement at the above address in North Amherst. The buying club has COVID protocols in place for safe use of the space.
- Items available include most grocery and bulk items found at Whole Foods, River Valley Food Coop, and Greenfield Market. Potential new members can go to the UNFI website and log in to the generic account with Username – Chesterfield1 Password – Buyingclub1 to view the products. You can’t order there, but you can see what is available.
- Payment in full is required prior to the food delivery date. You can mail or drop off a check, or use the CoFood PayPal account for payments (use Lyons@cohousing.com for PayPal access).
- The buying club does not have refrigeration/freezer space available at the pick-up location. You can either avoid ordering cold items or arrive promptly on delivery day to collect them so they stay as cold as possible.
- Buying club members currently receive a 4% discount off the list price of food items on the UNFI web site.
- All ordering is web‐based and fairly simple.
- The Pioneer Valley Cohousing Community has a designated bus stop on the PVTA’s Route 33. If you would like to participate in the food buying club, but transportation to and from PV Cohousing is a barrier, or if you need assistance navigating the online ordering system let us know! We will find volunteers to deliver your items and help you place an order! Contact community@commonsharefood.coop for assistance.
To join, please send the following information to CoFood Buying Club manager and CSFC member-owner, Lyons Witten at Lyons@cohousing.com:
- Name
- Address
- Email for this purpose
- Phone number
Lyons will create an account for you on the CoFood/UNFI system, and send you an email with Username, Password, Security Question Answer, instructions on where and how to order, and the ordering/delivery schedule.