Collective Abundance in Action: The Soba Story

We're celebrating a small but meaningful milestone this month - our first bulk purchase of organic buckwheat soba noodles!

A tiny win maybe, but still, it represents everything we're building together:

✦ Previously: $4.70/250g (in individual packaging)

✦ Now: $2.82/250g (in 10kg bulk boxes)

For our working members, that means paying $3.24 instead of $5.50 - matching even discounted supermarket prices while eliminating 40 individual packages from the waste stream.

What made this possible? Just five new households joining our collective buying power. That's it. Five more families choosing community over convenience, and suddenly we've unlocked both environmental and financial benefits for everyone.

This is what we mean by collective abundance - the idea that when we pool our resources, labour, and commitment, we create value that isn't captured by public shareholders but flows directly back into our community.

The path isn't always simple. Careful sourcing means constantly navigating complex questions like…

✦ Would a local producer always be better in this instance than an imported-but-organic one?

✦ Do we stock more than one option so we can pay respect to traditional producers elsewhere while also supporting a more local food system?

✦ When is packaging waste justified by other considerations?

We don't have perfect or clear cut answers, but we're figuring it out through considering these questions collectively. Each product decision becomes a learning opportunity and a chance to align our actions with our values. By building food sovereignty in this cooperative experiment, we’re distributing not just the work and the rewards, but also the decision-making.

So here's to soba noodles, and to the next small-but-mighty shift in our food system.

Want to see our current list?

What to stay in touch on Instagram?

Interested in becoming a member? Email us at [email protected].