Everything you need to know about ordering, cases, the community fund, and collection.
Orders open
Browse the store, add items to your basket, and place your order. You can change or cancel at any time during this window.
Orders lock (Wednesday noon)
No more changes. The organiser reviews the combined order, resolves any gaps in cases, and places the wholesale order with Suma.
Delivery arrives
Suma delivers to the village hall. Volunteers sort the bulk delivery into individual household boxes.
Box Day (Saturday)
Collect your box from the village hall. Quick, social, and usually takes about 5 minutes.
Suma sells in cases (e.g. a case of 6 bags of porridge oats). We can only order whole cases from them. But you probably only want one or two bags.
That is where the pack progress bar comes in. When you see “2 of 6 committed”, it means 2 units have been ordered by the village so far, and we need 4 more to fill the case. The more people who add the same product, the closer we get to filling a case.
What happens if the case is not filled?
After orders lock, the organiser resolves gaps. They might use the Ballast Fund to top up the remaining units, roll the item to the next batch, or (rarely) drop it. You will only pay for what you receive.
Buy full case
If you want a whole case for yourself (e.g. 12 tins of tomatoes), press “Add case”. This guarantees the case is ordered regardless of what anyone else orders. It is also the cheapest per-unit price.
Suma requires a minimum wholesale order value (currently around £375 ex-VAT) before they will deliver. The progress bar at the top of the store shows how close we are collectively.
If we do not reach the minimum, the batch does not go ahead and no money is taken. This is why it helps to order early and encourage neighbours to join.
The Ballast Fund is a small community pot that smooths out the gap between what individuals order and the whole cases we need to buy. A tiny percentage of each order (currently 2%) is automatically contributed.
What it pays for: When a case needs 6 units but only 4 are ordered, the fund can cover the cost of the 2 remaining units. Those surplus units go onto the community shelf and may be used in the next batch.
Voluntary top-up: At checkout, you can optionally add a voluntary amount to the fund on top of the automatic 2%. This helps the fund cover more gaps and keeps prices low for everyone.
The fund is transparent. The organiser can see every transaction in the Ballast ledger.
The Solidarity Pot is separate from the Ballast Fund. It is a way to help neighbours who might be struggling to afford food.
At checkout, you can optionally add £2, £5, or £10. The money is pooled and used to subsidise orders for households that need it. It is completely anonymous — nobody knows who gives and nobody knows who receives.
The Ballast Fund keeps the logistics running (filling cases). The Solidarity Pot keeps the community running (nobody left behind).
After the batch is locked and the wholesale order is confirmed, the organiser will share bank details. You transfer your order total by bank transfer with your name as the reference.
Your order page shows the exact amount, bank details, and payment reference. The organiser marks your payment as received once it clears.
Cannot find something you want? Use the “Request a product” button in the store. The organiser reviews requests and adds products to the catalogue if they are available from Suma.
We buy at wholesale prices from Suma, a worker co-operative. No middleman markup. You pay what we pay.
Yes, any time before the Wednesday noon lock. After that, orders are final.
The next batch cycle starts right after collection. You can order in the next round.
No, but 15 minutes of sorting makes a big difference and it is a nice way to meet neighbours.
Most Suma products are organic, fair trade, or ethically sourced. Each product is labelled in the store.
We only store your name, email, and order history. No tracking, no ads, no data sharing.
Still have questions?
Speak to the Batch organisers — we are happy to help.