Down To Earth Community Supplies Limited
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Tuesday: 09:30 - 16:00
Wednesday: 09:30 - 16:00
Thursday: 09:30 - 16:00
Friday: 09:30 - 17:00
Saturday: 09:30 - 17:00
Sunday: -
About Down To Earth Community Supplies Limited
Down to Earth is the original pioneering wholefood shop in Sheffield. Established in 1976 promoting a healthy diet of wholefoods, organic where possible.
Down To Earth Community Supplies Limited Description
Happy Birthday Down to Earth
1976-2016
Down to Earth started in 1973 when a household of students had decided to set up a small Cooperative to buy Wholefoods in bulk and distribute to themselves and their immediate friends. By September 1974 the word had spread so much that the group decided to open a small shop in the same area (Crooksmoor), which they ran themselves on a part-time basis. The capital (£800) was supplied by two of the group, Dik Waring and Paul Jackson who were, legally partners of the Cooperative. By August 1975 the only remaining member was Dik who became sole owner of the company. The other members had left to pursue other activities. Five months later in January 1976 the shop moved to its current position on Sharrowvale Road. It now had 5 full time workers working cooperatively as Down to Earth Community Supplies Limited.
The original aim of the shop as stated by Dik at the time were “We sell foods that are wholesome, organic and of course unprocessed and are hence providing an alternative to processed, tinned or frozen foods. We aim to sell staple foods as cheaply as possible rather than stocking a large number of less essential or luxury items. It is hoped that we can serve the community by providing Wholefoods at a cheaper price than conventional foods”
When you consider that this was written in the late 70’s you can see how ahead of its time the ideals behind Down to Earth were. Nowadays organic wholesome diets are more mainstream when Down to Earth started it was seen as anything but mainstream even a bit odd. . .
Taken around 1985-86 from left to right Joe, John, Annette, Colleen, Lizzie and Dave (who now owns Lembas)
Down to Earth Community Supplies was the first Cooperative Wholefood shop in Sheffield and a founder member of the Northern Wholefood Cooperative which established a Wholesale Distribution company called Suma. . . Today Suma is one of the biggest Cooperatives in the UK
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When I arrived in 1985-86 I was one of 6 members of the Cooperative. (see photo above) We got a weekly wage of £70 and ran the shop with periodic meetings where we would discuss such esoteric matters as whether we should sell halva with sugar or sell supplements! ! ! Very early on the founding members decided not to sell Supplements or Vitamins arguing that a diet consisting of Organic natural Wholefoods would provide everything necessary for a healthy diet. This may have hurt us financially but was a topic of discussion for many years and caused a few arguments. The ethical aims of Down to Earth included only using biodegradable packaging, sourcing the finest quality Wholefoods at the cheapest price possible and being a purely vegetarian shop these still guide us today. . .
In the mid to late 80’s we didn’t even have a till and added everything up by hand. Getting a till was a big step! Most things where in bins and weighed to order. We had queues out onto the street as we were the only shop selling Wholefoods. Now even Supermarkets have seen the wisdom of its aims and are at least making an effort to provide some Wholesome nutritious foods.
In the late 80’s the numbers in the Cooperative started to fall one being that the wages where too small to provide for a family or a mortgage so people moved on. In 1993 the two remaining members of the Cooperative Joe and I decided that the only feasible way to maintain the shop was to turn it into a limited Company and it has remained so until this day.
Presently Down to Earth has 3 regular workers Joe, Matt and I and an eclectic assortment of casual workers!
Over the forty years we have seen many businesses come and go. The fact that Down to Earth is still here is testament to the ideals it enshrined at its inception and which we have largely adhered too. It’s a major achievement. We know that these values have been shared by many of our customers some of whom have been shopping here from its opening day back in 1976 and before when it was in Crooksmoor. The best thing about being here for so long is that we feel part of the community that is Hunters Bar if not its heart then definitely its stomach. I have seen 3 generations of families be customers of ours and many a customer comes in to stock up on our Muesli etc to take to children or parent s who no longer live in Sheffield. . .
Finally Down to Earth wouldn’t still be here if it wasn’t for our customers. So thank you to all our customers through the years old and new for supporting Down to Earth Community Supplies Limited. I’m sure you will join us in wishing Down to Earth Community supplies a very Happy Birthday.
Reviews
Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth
https://www.theguardian.com/…/avoiding- meat-and-dairy-is-si…
Plastic The Problem with having been serving our customers for so long is that we forget that what we have been doing for 40 years has now become the latest thing. Take packaging for example. When we started back in 76 we had large bins of grains, beans, pulses, herbs and spices that people would request an amount and then we would place in paper bags or biodegradable cellophane. Due to not being able to keep up with demand back in the early 80's we removed the bins and all o...ur in store packaging was either biodegradable cellophane or paper bags. For the last 10 years or so we have been refilling customers bottles with Ecover Laundry liquid , Washing Up liquid or Fabric conditioner. We encourage our customers to bring in their own containers for flakes including Porridge and Muesli or we provide paper bags. The overuse of plastic is something we need to urgently address so it is encouraging to see other businesses adopting the practices we have been using for decades.
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Having been serving wholefoods to our customers for over 40 years we certainly aren't the new kid on the block.Consequently many of our products have stood the test of time. Our three in house Mueslis for example are little changed from the first day we started selling them back in the late 70's and still as popular. We use a range of nuts ,seeds , dried fruit and Organic flakes. All are free of added sugar. For those looking to cut down wheat we have our Wheat free Muesli.For those who like a crunch to start the day we have our Crunchy. The Super Muesli is a luxurious blend of chopped apricots dates raisins nuts and seeds.Some things don't change.
Cheap enough to bath in! Just naked Organic Peanuts , Crunchy or Smooth .£3-29 for 454gms
Another week another vegan cheese this time mozzarella style :)
Just a heads up to all you Brazil Nut lovers, I include myself as one. Due to a crop failure the price is forecast to double, this is compounded by the fall in the pound against the dollar. We could buy a box for less than £200 this time last year they are now over £300 from our favourite wholesaler but will rise further as new stock comes in. Some wholesalers don't have any at all while others are quoting £400! The word on the "street" is that by autumn we will not have any supply at all. On the flip side Apricots are slowly falling from their peak in 2015 again due to a crop failure of 80%. If we get a good crop this year which seems likely we should see some bargains. http://www.independent.co.uk/…/brazil-n ut-prices-rise-reduc…
" the UN says that the single most important step an individual can take to reduce global warming is to adopt a meat and dairy-free diet.”
And finally a word from our Sponser :)
Is always exciting this time of year as the summers fresh fruit has been dried and s now appearing in store. The 2016 Apricot crop iis a stunner. We are particularly enamoured with the 2016 Turkish Unsulphured Apricots. Plump, moist almost not dried enough with a deep mellow sweetness that only these sun dried beauties can deliver. Relatively cheap compared to the previous couple of years reflecting this year abundant crop.Once you try these sun dried apricot you won't go back to the traditional orange sulphured variety. Full of iron, vitamins and trace minerals.
Traditionally our American Cranberries came with a sugar glaze.This not only acts as a natural preervative but softens the inherent tartness of this populer dried berry. Many customers have asked us to source a sugar free version. This usually costs much more then the traditional cranberry. But we have managed to buy some Cranberries just with a natural apple juice glaze for around the same price. Slightly more tart but with that wonderful zing we look ffor in a cranberry. Full of vitamin C and high in antioxidants get them while you can !
Well it's been a few months since the last of the Spanish baby figs ran out so I am glad to annouce they are back! These dried figs are called « Calabacita », from the Extremadura in Spain. Not very well known in the European market, the figs have a flavour and a texture very different from the Turkish fig. They have abundant flesh, are tender, taste really sweet and their skin is very thin. Sun dried, the figs are 100% natural. They do not receive any treatment, they are just rolled in certified gluten free rice flour The figs are small, between 100 and 140 pieces per kilo. One of our customers soaks them in brandy and hands them out as presents.
Just in New Crop Chilean Jumbo Golden Raisins. Succulent, sweet yet with a mellow sharpness.
These Organic Unsulphured Apricots are soft, moist, sweet and full of flavour. Great to give you a boost on those walks inthe Peaks
Just arrived, Mr Poppies Raw Chocolate.. 70gm bars, Euphoric Orange Uplifting Mint, Super Root (ginger maca beetroot and carrot),Flower Power (rose and elder flower) and 88% strong. The latter has an uplifting kick to it. If you haven't tried raw chocolate this is some of the finest we have tasted . Vegan. Soya, gluten and cane sugar free.
There is a God!! . Should have them in stock in a week r so :)
Rambo Radish !
Down to Earth was founded on the principle that a good wholefood diet organic where possible with little or no meat provides all the nutirents that we need. The article below although aimed at pregnant women and acknowledging the crucial role of folic acid and Vitiamin D agains highlights the total waste of money most vitamin and mineral supplements are.. I have also linked to a much older article aimed at the wider use of V&M's. I have seen many customers fooled into thinkin...g that spending a large amount on some obscure supplement like, Hell's teeth extract with added vitamin M or Natural rainforest Crustacean nut with Goji extract is the answer to their prayers.These are obviously made up but you wouldn't believe the weird concoctions I have been asked for over the years. There was a phase of taking super strength versions of the regular vitamins which later was found could cause complications particularly with the liver.Such things are tantamount to snake oil and shoul;d be avoided.What we eat is what we are, eating a good wholesome diet rich in natural unrefined wholefoods with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables is far superior to spending huge amounts on a magic pill. There is no magic pill, yet a seemingly inexhaustable supply of people who think there is..I remember back in the early 90's the solgar rep, a vitamin and mineral company was trying to get us to stock supplements to no avail. When he finally realised we were not going to bite he said "Americans have the most expensive urine in the world because of the unassimilated vitamins and minerals they excrete" the very ones he was trying to sell us!! https://www.theguardian.com/…/vitamin-s upplements-waste-mon… https://www.theguardian.com/…/pregnant- women-waste-money-vi…
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Save the Rain Forest eat Brazil Nuts!
The Brazil Nut tree is indigenous to the rain forest it cannot be farmed. So eating Brazil Nuts encourages the protection of its environment. If you look at the close up of our Organic Bolivian Brazil Nuts you can see the flesh is almost totally white. As the nut ages the natural fats oxidise and become translucent losing that bright white. A natural source of selenium. This batch of Bolivian Brazil Nuts are particularly fresh crunchy and crisp.
When I first started there was no such thing as vegan cheese. Well you could make it yourself with soya flour hard vegetable fat and Marmite!!!. Now we are spoiled for choice, hard ,soft, ready grated, flavoured from chilli to walnut, melty, slices you name it we have got it :)
More about Down To Earth Community Supplies Limited
Tuesday: 09:30 - 16:00
Wednesday: 09:30 - 16:00
Thursday: 09:30 - 16:00
Friday: 09:30 - 17:00
Saturday: 09:30 - 17:00
Sunday: -
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