Canberra’s not-for-profit food co-op. Has lots of organic and sustainable Vegan ingredients and foods (such as Funky Pies in the frozen section and Sprout and Kernel Vegan Cheese). They also have a cafe which sells organic, fair-trade coffee and cakes. Bring your own containers and weigh them before you fill them up with goodies (so the weight of the container can be subtracted at the checkout).
https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Food-Co-op-Shop-Caf%C3%A8/164655766978788
Review by Gareth Ballard – 28 January 2016
I went to the Food Co – op Shop (formerley the ANU Food Co-op) to get lunch for the first time a while ago. They are a non profit Co – op with a café. They have a wide range of unpackaged organic foods to choose from and a select range of packaged foods (frozen and unfrozen) and drinks (which are all discounted if you become a member, check out the link below for more info) Some of the items of most interest to a vegan would be the range of cheeses, including some by Sprout and Kernel as well as yoghurts etc. The setting is quite casual in a really good way. The café also does breakfast from 8 until 11:30 in the morning and at the moment the vegan options are homemade porrige and museli (with a gluten free option) served with a selection of non-dairy milks. They do lunch from 12 till 2 in the arvo. They will serve one type of meal each lunch (which is ALWAYS vegan) and on Wednesdays and Fridays when they have Peter doing the cooking an option of spicy and not spicy. On the day that I went there was a 2 potato with black lentil stew served with rice. It was a bit like a chilli. Really great simple flavours with that nourishing comfort food factor. I loved it and was struggling to finish the bowl due to how hearty it was. I had a chat with the cook and he said that they (obviously when you think about it) just grab ingredients from the shelves that need to be used in the next few days, so the main ingredients were seasonal organic food. I really like a bit of spice and ordered the spicy which was at the limit for my tastes and the cook said that he usually puts a bit more spice in! There is some chilli powder to add to the non spicy if you’d prefer to choose exactly how spicy it gets, which I’m definitely doing next time. They can also do a funky pie for you (If you haven’t had one STOP right now and go get one!), and have a selection of treats from Veganarchy and Raw Capers. The lunches cost $5 for Food Co – op members / students and $7 for everyone else, which, with filling food that tastes as good as this, is damn hard value to beat. I’ll certainly be returning soon, I’ll just have to remember to have a small breakfast to leave as much room as possible!
The Food Co-op Shop is located at 3 Kingsley Street on the ground floor of the Lena Karmel Unilodge building. Their website is http://foodco-opshop.com.au/ which is really worth checking out for all their events and the information on becoming a member (which has loads of benefits!)
Sonja Barfoed: Community-based, non-profit cooperative with bring-your-own-container options. Also sweets, vegan cheeses, unusual vegetables and fruit. Similar to As Nature Intended and Mountain Creek in that there’s an in-store café (the lunches are great value and generally vegan). It has been around for ages, I don’t remember when it was in the Union building, but before the current bricks-and-mortar, it was in a transportable building near the Law Courts, and prior to that, a different transportable near the current site. Parking: There is a loading zone out the front, but it’s more polite & good karma to park in the proper spots. There is a useful map on the Co-op’s website. Closest gallery: Drill Hall Gallery
