A food box with community at its heart

YFM regular Brianna Sharp profiles the not-for-profit making their mark in Eastern Sydney.I met the beautiful women behind the Bondi Food Collective as I was working in the Transitions kitchen in Bondi. Immediately I was warmly welcomed into their arms and soaked up their vision of a community food collective where food is affordable organic, chemical-free and package-free. Sourcing their produce from a variety of local and greater NSW providers, co-founders Bridgette Di Fernando and Shann Akkersdyk are realising their dream of bringing directly sourced food to their local community.The Bondi Food Collective really stands out from the traditional fruit and veg box delivery system. For starters, members of the collective ‘create’ their own box of fruit and veg and have the option of adding a multitude of extras from things like fresh and creamy NSW walnuts, or aged Organic beef from a farmer up in Duncog, to natural bases and cleaning products. To keep prices at an absolute minimum there is no delivery offered and, on joining, members are asked to contribute 1 hour of their time a month. This usually means just rocking up a little earlier to the central pickup location and helping out with the distribution of food into the  boxes. Altogether it’s a great community full of like-minded folk getting their fortnightly organic groceries at a fraction of the cost of buying them from the supermarket, coupled with the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting local NSW producers.Though Bondi Food Collective is not only about the fortnightly food pick up. Bridgette and Shann are strengthening the community they have built around the Collective by introducing a variety of workshops and events aimed at promoting the farmers involved and creating a story behind the food we consume. These are often in collaboration with the farmers and producers themselves.Check out how their membership works here.Image credit: Bondi Food Collective