Become a Member
Join us!
Anyone can shop at our wonderful Food Co-op however, joining provides amazing benefits!
Membership forms are available from the front shop counter. Let the Shop Coordinator (the person behind the till) know you’d like to sign up as a Member OR you can subscribe (join) online under Membership Categories. Once your new membership is acknowledged by the Co-op Board (within the month), you’re part of the Co-op community!
Next, come along to a New Members Induction and receive a complimentary iconic Co-op lunch PLUS 20% off your first shop! Our New Member Inductions happen on the first Saturday of each month from 11:00am-12pm (lunch served at 12). These inductions provide an overview of how the Co-op works and the different Working Member roles available.
Membership Categories
Individual
(1 adult member)
$15
concession
$25
standard
Concession includes any concession card eg. student, pension, health care.
Couple
(2 adult members)
$30
concession
$40
standard
For concession rate to apply, both members need to hold concessions.
Household
(3+ adult members)
$40
concession
$50
standard
For concession rate to apply, majority members need to hold concessions.
Membership Benefits
Being a Member of The Food Co-op makes you a co-owner and the reason we exist.
Being owned and run by Members helps us to keep prices as low as possible. We prioritise our Co-op values with product and operational choices over profit. Be part of a vibrant and diverse community!
Discounts
Membership grants you a 5% discount in the shop, as well as discounts on cafe lunches and certain Co-op events.
Members are also eligible to receive an additional 10% discount for bulk orders ,find out more on our ‘How to Shop’ page.
Working Members receive a 20% discount by volunteering your time. 1 hour of volunteering keeps your Working Membership discount active for 2 weeks. More details below.
Becoming a Working Member
What is a Working Member? A working member is a Co-op member who volunteers their time to work in the Co-op.
Our Co-operative model means that Working Members are essential to the functioning of our Co-op.
Being a Working Member at the Co-op is a great way to get involved in the community and get even more affordable groceries. There are fun, interesting, and challenging roles available to suit a wide range of capacity, skill, interest, and availability.
Working Members receive a 20% discount in the Co-op for a fortnight for every hour that is worked. Hours worked are cumulative; for example if you work two hours in succession, you will receive one month of 20% discount. This discount may also be purchased by any member who seeks and gains approval in writing from the Board to pay the price set at the most recent AGM each year to ‘buy out’ the required hours. The Board may, but is not bound to, take into consideration family circumstances, equity and capacity in determining whether to grant approval for a member to buy out their hours.
Working members ALSO receive reduced Cafe meals and events attendance, just give your member name to our friendly Cafe Coordinator on duty. Explore further up-to-date details about our Working Member roles here.
Democratic participation, responsibilities & governance
Getting to know the Co-op’s structure and the different roles involved is a good place to start, find out more here. Being a Member of the Co-op comes with important responsibilities that relate to our principles. These include ways to raise a grievance, concern, or complaint and also our code of conduct policy. Documents related to governance; behaviour; and other responsibilities can be found here (there is also a link from our Member Hub page).
Members are critical to the governance of The Food Co-op. Members who have been signed up for a minimum of 6 months can vote for other members and are also eligible to be nominated to our Board at our Annual General Meeting.
Reading our e-newsletter ‘Fresh In!’ and any other emails you receive are important ways to stay up-to-date with important news and events relevant to being a Member and part of the Co-op community.