For years, the Binghamton Food Co-op’s mission was simply to provide an organic and healthy alternative for students on campus. But now, a new program organized by Co-op volunteers will allow students to buy food in bulk from food producers and share it with friends.
Wholeshare provides students access to food that is fresher, more affordable and comes straight from food producers.
Wholeshare was organized by Sarah Keon, a sophomore majoring in environmental studies, Josh Schultz, a sophomore majoring in psychology, and Dan Livingston, a Binghamton University alumnus. To view a catalog of the foods available for purchase, students can join Wholeshare through the Food Co-op online at www.wholeshare.com/join/1638. Ordered food items are then shipped to the Food Co-op in room 130 of the Old University Union, where students can pick up their orders.
“This way, the middle man is cut out,” Schultz said. “You are buying directly from the farm or source.”
Besides buying in bulk, Wholeshare offers the option to split food among friends and students. The program also lets consumers know exactly where the food they purchase comes from, information that isn’t even always available in organic supermarkets, and whether or not the food is organic or fair trade. It gives people regional access to food from the greater New York area that they would not have had otherwise.
Wholeshare is connected to three suppliers: Regional Access, Tierra Farms and Four Seasons. However, because of the environmentally and economically friendly process of the farms, an order needs to meet a contingent minimum of $350 in order for these producers to ship out to campus. The only supplier that meets this minimum is Regional Access. The other suppliers will not ship unless the order is substantially larger. Until students start buying and signing up for Wholeshare to build bigger orders, they can’t yet buy in minimum amounts from Tierra Farms and Four Seasons. For now, only Regional Access will process smaller orders since the Co-op already spends $300.
Although the Food Co-op serves vegetarian and vegan food, Wholeshare is not restricted in that way.
“You can buy meat or cheese, and it’s very inexpensive,” Keon said.
The expansive catalog offers not only fresh produce, but also things such as falafel chips, natural yogurt, gelato, crumbled blue cheese, soda and pet food.