Food insecurity remains a significant challenge in many communities, with millions of adults and children struggling to access nutritious food. Healthy food clubs are emerging as a vital resource, offering a multifaceted approach to combatting food insecurity by addressing both access and affordability. These clubs provide a dignified and sustainable way for individuals and families to access healthy food options, build community connections, and promote long-term health and well-being.
The Need for Food Clubs
The latest food insecurity tracker from The Food Foundation (July 2024) indicates that 7.2 million adults and 2.7 million children in the UK are food insecure - that’s 13.6% of the population. Food clubs tackle the two main culprits of food insecurity: Access and affordability. At least 10% of deprived areas in the UK are classified as “food deserts,” where supermarkets are hard to reach.
What are Healthy Food Clubs?
Healthy food clubs are membership-based grocery stores that prioritize access to nutritious food for individuals and families facing financial challenges. These clubs operate on a membership model, where members pay a modest monthly fee, often on a sliding scale based on income and household size. In return, members gain access to a grocery store-like environment where they can shop for a variety of food items using a point-based system.
Membership and Access
Members pay between $12 and $19 for a 30-day membership, which lets you shop using points based on household size. The food clubs enroll members living at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. For example, a single individual with an income of $29,160, or a family of four with an income of $60,000 or less, can qualify to join for a low monthly cost.
Point-Based System
Food items are priced in points. Healthier items like fresh fruits and vegetables cost fewer points than less healthy alternatives. Some Food Clubs utilize an inverted pricing strategy. Unlike traditional grocery stores, fresh fruits and vegetables are the lowest-priced items, while processed foods and snacks are among the highest. Members can shop as often as they wish during their membership period, using their points to purchase groceries. On average, members report being able to secure about 9 to 11 days’ worth of food during each membership cycle.
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Creating an Accessible Shopping Environment
At its core, a Food Club is a nonprofit membership-based grocery store that creates an accessible shopping environment. This thoughtful positioning ensures that communities most in need of nutritious food options gain convenient access.
Benefits of Healthy Food Clubs
Healthy food clubs offer a wide range of benefits that extend beyond simply providing affordable food.
Healthier Diets
There’s a focus on fresh fruit, veg and a wider variety of food on offer. This allows families to cook and eat more nutritious homemade meals, leading to long-term health benefits. With healthy alternatives like fresh fruits and veggies featured at the front of the store and on end caps usually reserved for candies or junk-food treats, food clubs empower people with income challenges to meet their family’s nutritional needs with dignity. Members purchase between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds of fresh produce every day.
Reduced Reliance on Food Banks
Food clubs help keep people away from the emergency food system, reducing reliance on food banks. Of the 61% of our members who have used food banks, 39% have been able to reduce or stop using food banks since joining. Food clubs are about building resilience and offering more than just emergency support.
Connecting Communities
By tackling social isolation, food clubs help create lasting community connections. Food clubs empower communities to come together and additional services can provide wider, long-term support. These clubs are often found in places like community centres, church halls, and even local schools. Because of this, our hubs have become the beating heart of the neighbourhoods we support. A trusted space which offers a dignified, positive experience, which reduces stigma and helps families to ‘put food on the table’.
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Community Resilience
Food clubs empower communities to come together and additional services can provide wider, long-term support.
Dignity and Choice
Members shopping at food clubs not only benefit from having access to affordable healthy foods. They also enjoy shopping at a real grocery store, making food choices that their families enjoy eating. “Every member that comes in and shops with us has full autonomy. They make all of their own choices,” Fossel says.
Addressing the Root Causes of Food Insecurity
The ability to make healthy food choices isn’t just about personal responsibility-it’s about access, affordability, and knowledge.
Success Stories
When Holland, Mich.-based Community Action House transformed its emergency food pantry into a Food Club and Opportunity Hub in 2021, John*, a frequent pantry customer, bought a membership. As he checked out his purchases, the volunteer cashier recognized him - and remembered him from the pantry days, when staff had to help him get out of his car, settle him into a wheelchair, and push him around the pantry to help him select items. Now, John was on his own two feet, pushing his grocery cart totally independently. “… To see him just smiling in line, and for him to say, ‘You’ve recognized me. You see me. You know me."
Gronstal tells the story of a food club member named Candace. Candace knocked on Gronstal’s door one day, came in, and started to cry. She then told Gronstal, “You have allowed me to be a fun mom again. “She said … this is their family’s favorite grocery store,” Gronstal says. “Her kids don’t even know that they are coming to a place where food-insecure families shop - they just know it as their favorite grocery store.
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Connie, a NOW client with type 2 diabetes was facing the likelihood of blindness and loss of a limb without a lifestyle change. “I’ve lost 28 lbs. and my A1C is down to 6.9. It has been at 8.1 for years,” she told her local food pantry. “I have more energy and less depression.
How Food Clubs Operate
Food Clubs thrive through their community-centered operational model. They are typically member-run with shared responsibilities, fostering a sense of ownership and investment in the store’s success. The emphasis on minimal overhead costs and operating from community spaces helps keep prices low while maintaining accessibility. Food Clubs focus heavily on reducing food waste through strategic partnerships and efficient inventory management, creating a more sustainable food distribution model.
Sourcing Food
What sets this model apart is its multifaceted approach to sourcing food beyond traditional means. The Grand Rapids food club purchases some of its fresh produce from New City Farm, an urban farm and youth ministry in Grand Rapids, and receives donations from vendors of Grand Rapids’ Fulton Street Farmers Market. In addition to purchasing 90% of its food with the help of donations and grants, the club also purchases fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers in Mason, Oceana, and Muskegon counties. It also has a special relationship with Ludington-based Campbell Crossings Farm, which planted its crops based on foods that the food club knew its customers were looking for. “She is providing for her family through the farm, and she is providing for her community,” Gronstal says.
Community Partnerships
Each partner brings unique value and expertise to the table. The Food Club was built on the strengths of partner agencies - each offered unique resources and expertise and was instrumental in establishing the program. Salvation Army provides the majority of program referrals and handles intake - processing referrals, verifying household income, and putting new members into the computer system. Spectrum Health is the largest funding source. They provide program referrals and play an important part in raising awareness about the program.
The Growing Food Club Landscape
Organisations like The Bread and Butter Thing are bringing together key players in the affordable food club sector. While food clubs are seen as a positive step in addressing food insecurity by academics and supporters, they’re still under the radar for the food industry, government, and the general public. The Food Club model exists within a broader ecosystem of community food initiatives, including traditional food cooperatives, collective buying clubs, and mutual aid grocery stores. Each model contributes to a more resilient and equitable food system, offering a unique approach that prioritizes accessibility and dignity. The Food Club model is a new addition to the food security ecosystem and is still evolving in communities across the country. Promising model variations can be seen in Muskegon County, MI, where a new Food Club concept will address food insecurity and limited food access resources. These emerging projects demonstrate how the Food Club concept can be adapted to different contexts while maintaining its core mission: providing dignified access to healthy, affordable food for all community members.
Challenges and Considerations
- Sustainability: Ensuring long-term financial sustainability is crucial for food clubs.
- Volunteer Recruitment and Retention: Many food clubs rely on volunteers, and maintaining a consistent volunteer base can be challenging.
- Community Engagement: Actively engaging community members and leaders is essential for the success of food clubs.
- Adapting to Local Needs: Tailoring the food club model to meet the specific needs of the local community is important.