True Food Co-op (A Low-Cost Berkshire Supermarket)

Despite its ‘posh image’, some people in Berkshire struggle financially. True Food Co-op is a zero-waste supermarket, where members pay a one-off £5 fee for exclusive discounts (volunteers earn up to 15% discount off food).

The shop has a refill station, organic alcohol and orange stickers for value basics, to help people on tight budgets. These are not ‘cheap inferior products’ but organic foods that still work out cheaper than brands in major supermarkets.

As members have shares in the shop, you can order in anything you like. So if you want say a couple of cans of organic soda, they’ll order in wholesale, and then just sell the rest of the cans in the shop to other customers.

Before cooking, read up on food safety for people and pets. Indie shops can learn which plants and flowers are unsafe near pets, to know what not to sell to people with animal friends.