This article is a summary of the podcast conversation 31. “How a Community Food Co-op Offers Fair Food for All”. Listen to the full episode on Spotify podcasts or Apple podcasts, and go here for the relevant links mentioned in the podcast. Read on for the summarised topics from the episode.

How a Community Food Co-op Offers Fair Food for All

A community food co-op in the main street of a small regional town can have a massive impact, not just on the reduced environmental impact of locally grown food, but also the value of having access to healthy food, support for local growers and really strong community connections.

This episode is with Anna Crane from the Dungog Wholefood Co-op. It’s an amazing conversation about community, the value of people, the value of local foods and how a community food co-op operates.

Overview of the Conversation

Designing a welcoming space for a food co-op
- “all of the choices that were made were about reflecting our values and living our values…And we want people to feel them as soon as they step in the shop”.
Established in 2022 after the catastrophic bushfires and COVID pandemic, creating a co-op that strengthens and supportive of local food culture
- Chose a community co-op model inspired by uni experiences and further reading, then put the idea to the community. The strong interest led to a 10-person working party.
- Co-op started with a capital raised from fundraising plus the financial support of local businesses who believed in the business enough to contribute $1000 each – at a time that was financially tough for every small business
- Clear purpose from the start: to connect people through community-owned Fair Food.

“Our food systems are complex. Our economic social systems are complex. we knew from the start it wasn’t going to be an easy thing to do and that we’d be really diving into some difficult ground”

Outline of what it means to be a co-operative model, including the seven co-operative principles. Each financial member is a collective owner and profits are reinvested back into the co-op for the benefit of all members.

What “fair food” means to the co-op.
Challenges of running a co-op often feel like swimming against the tide

It’s not easy, but there’s all of these amazing successes along the way that aren’t complicated when we work together

The co-op prioritises local food and suppliers by staying close to the producers and keeping customers informed about what’s in season. Fairness is key – they don’t lock producers into unfair contracts.
The co-op supports plastic-free shopping by offering bulk pantry items and partnering with Boomerang Bags, providing totes and produce bags made from upcycled, reclaimed fabrics crafted locally in Dungog.

In our conversation, Anna shares one of their producer’s stories about why they love being a part of the community food co-op…

“They love dropping food off at the co-op because people are really excited to see them and to see the produce…it’s hard work growing vegetables and growing them without chemicals, without huge inputs from elsewhere. It really lights her up to see that people are excited about what she’s doing and about the food that she’s growing”.

This episode of The ReNewy Living Podcast was recorded on Worimi country. I wish to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land and waters in the Dungog region of New South Wales.

I hope you’re feeling more confident about doing better for our people and planet by taking a start where you live approach to living sustainably. If this episode has spurred you into action, please feel free to share the episode with your friends. It would mean the world to me!

Listen into the stories and voices of this story here at Spotify podcasts and here at Apple Podcasts… And you can also sign up to my regular emails here… I look forward to sharing more stories with you next time.

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How a Community Food Co-op Offers Fair Food for All (S4 Ep31)

Links from the Podcast Episode (S4 Ep31)

Dungog Wholefood Co-op passionate about community-owned fair food and the benefits it can have for Dungog and the planet
Four Acre Farm a small farm growing cut flowers, garlic and other produce in Dungog
ABC News article “Dairy deregulation a major chapter in industry’s story of constant revolution” : an overview of the dairy deregulation discussed in the episode
The Tin Shed Micro Brewery
UN General Assembly named 2025 as the International Year of Co-operatives under the theme of “co-operatives build a better world”
Sprocket Coffee Roasters carbon conscious coffee roasting
Hunter Belle Dairy Co for award winning dairy made from Brown Swiss Cows in the Hunter Valley NSW
Boomerang Bags a global grassroots movement that empowers communities to tackle plastic pollution at its source.