Fall for your local shop this autumn

Clive and Nicola – making True Food a family affair 

Clive thrives on routine, and two mornings a week you’ll find him volunteering at True Food, setting out fresh bread, lining up clean scoops for loose foods and checking fridge temperatures. As the shop opens, he swaps his apron for a trolley and fills it with his weekly groceries and a few well-earned treats. 

He was first introduced to True Food over 20 years ago by Nicola, his wife, who has been supporting the organic food movement since the 1980s. She discovered True Food when it sold produce at roving markets across Reading. When Nicola retired she worked as the True Food’s van driver, and alongside another driver Helen, transported food to set up the stalls across Reading. When True Food opened its Emmer Green shop, both Nicola and Clive continued to support in different ways including Clive putting his DIY skills to good use, fitting out the shop’s kitchen and storage area. 

Their family’s commitment to True Food runs deep and both of Nicola’s children have also made valuable contributions to True Food’s success: Nicola’s son Rupert Shute chaired the co-op’s volunteer committee for six years, and her daughter designed artwork to promote produce in store. Having moved to Hurley, Nicola’s daughter still returns to True Food to shop, stocking up on loose products which she says are much cheaper than equivalent packaged organic goods in supermarkets. 

Nicola and Clive continue to share their passion for healthy organic eating with their wider family and also through volunteering for True Food at outreach events. Clive is keen to encourage more people to avoid the ‘dirty dozen’ of fruit and veg that can contain a cocktail of pesticide residues if not grown organically, and sums up saying, “Organic food can cost a little more, but it’s good value when you consider the benefits.” 

Jessica – a True Food-er through and through 

True Food was little more than an idea when Jessica first became involved in the 1990s, soon after she moved to Reading from Switzerland. Later, while working at the BBC Monitoring Unit at Caversham Park, Jessica volunteered with True Food, helping out on the stalls it ran at local markets. 

For Jessica, True Food quickly became more than a place to buy organic food. She loved having access to organic soaps, toothpaste and detergents at a time when similar products were hard to find. Later, when she retrained and worked as a CBT counsellor at Emmer Green Surgery, True Food had settled in its current location round the corner opposite Emmer Green primary school, making it the perfect place for her to pick up all her organic supplies. 

Today, Jessica still shops at True Food. She also volunteers and is on the committee that helps steer the business. “I’m curious by nature and I like to understand how things work. I also like things to be orderly, so I love restocking the shelves,” she laughs. “Restocking at True Food also gives me the chance to explore new products and discover things I haven’t tried before.” Jessica also enjoys volunteering with charities, helping adults and children to read. 

Jessica can often be seen at True Food’s outreach events, sharing her passion for organic food and nature-friendly farming. For her, cooking should be simple, joyful and nourishing. “True Food-ers are people who enjoy food,” she says. “Our food nourishes us, and the planet. We need to help more people to appreciate that.” 

Helga – a True Food champion 

Almost everyone who’s visited True Food more than once will have met Helga, who has been a shop manager for over a decade and is passionate about what True Food does. ‘I love working here and I like what we sell,’ she says, and she means it. Helga has always believed in organic farming, zero waste and the joy of knowing exactly where our food comes from. Before discovering True Food, she would travel to farm shops around Berkshire and Oxfordshire, seeking out produce that has a clear connection between farm and fork. 

That connection is what Helga wants people to feel at True Food, where much of the fresh produce and honeys come from local producers. It’s what makes the shop special, she believes. Her favourite part of her job is the social side – chatting with customers, supporting volunteers and sharing advice as people browse. ‘You won’t find that in supermarkets,’ she says, and she’s right. The friendly and knowledgeable staff and volunteers you’ll meet at True Food are part of the fabric of the shop. 

Outside of work Helga’s other passions include keeping fit at regular gym classes and making music, playing a range of recorders in several orchestras. She firmly believes that eating organic food is an investment in our long-term health and she always buys organic, and almost always from True Food. 

Helga knows some products can seem expensive compared to supermarket alternatives, but she’s clear about the trade-off: ‘The quality of the food makes up for the additional cost.’ And when it comes to loose foods, she points out that True Food’s prices are often cheaper than equivalent packaged products in supermarkets. ‘With our loose foods, as well as being organic and good value, you can buy as much or as little as you want and reduce packaging and food waste at the same time.’ 

Michael – a committed ‘True Food-er’ 

Michael first discovered the True Food club 1999 when it was a small pop-up stall at the Rising Sun Arts Centre in Reading, offering locally sourced organic produce and zero-plastic household refills. Drawn by a desire to eat fresh, local, nutrient-dense food, he quickly became a regular shopper. When True Food moved to RISC and began evolving into a community co-operative, Michael’s commitment deepened. 

He became a founding member of True Food Co-op as it is today, investing time, energy and money to help establish roving markets across Reading, from Watlington Street to Cemetery Junction and Mapledurham. After long days working as a Chartered Engineer for Thames Water, he’d make his way to the Watlington St True Food market to help load roller-cages with unsold goods into True Food’s lorry. 

True Food settled in Emmer Green in 2010, and not long afterwards Michael followed, making the journey across Reading from his home in Coley Park to continue supporting the shop and its mission. His dedication to encouraging people to choose local, organic food has never wavered. Today, he volunteers in the shop most weeks as a host at the tills, and whenever something needs fixing, he is the first to volunteer his expertise and tools to get the job done. 

Michael says he loves being part of “something bigger than myself” and alongside his loyalty to True Food, he chairs the Reading Food Growing Network, which promotes locally-grown food, seed swaps and shared resources across the town. He’s convinced that consumers can improve their own health and help reshape our food system by choosing nutrient-rich, locally produced food and by rethinking our relationship with money, recognising that organic food that is ethically produced has real value. 

Simon – Buying sustainably at True Food 

When Simon moved to Emmer Green in 2013 he popped into True Food and was struck by the fresh veg, well-stocked shelves, and a sign saying ‘Get Involved.’ Although he was working in London as a TV editor at the time, the message stuck and he started to volunteer at the shop at weekends. He identified with True Food’s values and ethos and wanted to be a part of it. 

A few years later, when he stepped back from his editing career, he stepped forward with True Food, becoming a casual manager covering holidays and sick leave. Then in 2024, the role of buyer came up. Simon applied and was delighted to get it. 

He says it’s a busy role and it took him a while to get his head around what was involved, but now he really enjoys it. He loves doing business with small, local, organic suppliers, many of them co-operatives like True Food. 

Simon says he appreciates the health benefits of organic products and buys most of his own food at True Food, avoiding mainstream supermarkets as much as possible. He enjoys working with his fellow managers to choose the best organic products to sell and says that customer suggestions and special orders also help shape what you’ll find on the shop’s shelves. 

For Simon, True Food is unique. It’s a not-for-profit co-operative, owned and run by its members – a community that understands that the food chain must be managed sustainably. He points out that big companies want to convince us that food should be cheap, but that model is not sustainable. True Food sources organic products from co-operative suppliers and local producers on a small scale. It’s fairer and more sustainable, and Simon says, that can add to the price, but it reflects the real value of good food. 

Simone – passionate about True Food 

Much of the fresh veg sold at True Food comes from local producers like Tolhurst Organic and Greenbroom Farm. Whenever new stock arrives, shop managers get it on display as soon as possible. To speed things up, on Tuesday mornings before the shop opens one of two volunteers – Simone or Esther – helps price up fruit and veg and stocks the shelves and chiller, ensuring the displays are full of enticing fresh produce. 

Simone has been shopping with True Food for as long as it’s been running, but it’s only in the last couple of years that she’s found time to volunteer. She’s always been passionate about minimising waste and eating organically. Even when Simone was too busy with her work as a violin teacher to travel across Reading to the shop, another True Foodie kindly picked up True Food groceries for her. 

Now Simone is semi-retired and keen to spend more time doing things she is passionate about. So come rain or shine, every two weeks she cycles from her home in Theale to help price up and present the fresh produce at True Food, before doing her fortnightly shop and cycling home again. ‘Cycling to True Food for my volunteering shift is part my desire to stay healthy, as is spending money on quality, organic produce,’ Simone says. 

She loves the atmosphere at True Food, where she says, there’s a real personal touch that you’d struggle to find in other shops: ‘People at True Food really have their hearts in it – there is so much soul in the shop.’ 

Judith – enjoying a real taste for True Food 

To Judith’s young family back in 2010, the True Food Co-op was known fondly as the ‘chocolate raisin shop.’ It was a time when Judith thought of herself as ‘organic curious’ and she began to buy more. The turning point came when she first bought all the ingredients for her staple vegetarian bolognese recipe at True Food. ‘It blew me away – it was the most flavoursome bolognese I’d ever made!’ 

Prior to shopping at True Food, Judith says: ‘Fresh fruit and veg often felt like it had no vitality. But when I eat from True Food, I feel what I can only describe as a physiological effervescence. The flavours really are unbeatable!’ 

Her taste for True Food has remained steadfast and soon after her bolognese experience, she became a weekly shop volunteer. She went on to become one of the shop managers for two years and was pleased with the added benefit of discounts on her shopping. 

After stepping back from those formal roles, Judith stayed involved by managing True Food’s Facebook account and has now come full circle to host in the shop again. She enjoys interacting with customers, volunteers and staff, and is always excited to see others enjoying True Food. 

‘I love that at True Food you can just shop, or you can directly participate at a level that works for you.’ Judith says, adding that, ‘I especially like supporting True Food because it’s a not-for-profit community enterprise that operates within a strong ethical framework.’ And although Judith recognises her shopping can be a bit pricey, she knows that it is in the service of her own, her family’s and the planet’s health. 

‘Occasionally I’ll see something I’d love, for example a fresh pomegranate, but if it’s too pricey, I go without,’ Judith says, but she emphasises, ‘If I don’t buy it organic, I won’t buy it at all!’ 

Sophia – a long-time organic supporter 

An unforgettable smile and a wealth of knowledge characterise Sophia as her name indicates. Our casual shop manager steps in to steer the shop when needed. She also volunteers on the shop floor. Sophia dates her interest in shops to a pop-up wholefood market that used to be held in St Andrew’s Church Hall in Dublin. 

When Sophia moved to England, a roadside sign in Caversham pointed her to the True Food mobile shop in Mapledurham Pavilion. And she was relieved to find the organic loose foods and salads she missed. Sophia moved away from the area for a few years and when she returned True Food Coop was no longer itinerant, it was a shop with four walls.  

Sophia credits being brought up on an organic farm in Ireland, taking care of the animals with her siblings and working her parents’ orchards for her grounding in nutrition. “My grandmother had a giant blackcurrant orchard – it took a week to pick the berries but the jams were magnificent. Meat was local too, the butchers in the area processed the animals so we knew where our meat came from”.  

Sophia studied biology, geography and technology before leaving the ‘corporate’ world to become an acupuncturist and a health coach. “I was blessed and learnt from the best!” Sophia believes that we have to return to thinking local, working together and sharing equipment like farmers used to do. “I want people to be healthy and well and I start by keeping myself healthy”. Sophia sees True Food as laying the foundations for our community’s health by providing access to local and organic food on our doorstep. 

Caroline – trusting in True Food 

Caroline first discovered True Food more than a decade ago, when her children were at Emmer Green Primary. After school they’d shop for treats like organic mango strips and apple rings. But it was only when her youngest left for university that Caroline began shopping regularly at True Food and decided to volunteer. 

Now as a freelance science writer and editor, she fits her volunteering in around her working day. ‘I enjoy helping with restocking on a Tuesday morning before heading home to my desk job or popping in at the end of the day to help with pack up.’ 

Living more sustainably has always mattered to Caroline, and she says that whenever she’s at True Food, she learns something new about the value of organic, loose foods and sustainable supply chains. ‘Everyone at True Food is really friendly and knowledgeable’ and although it took a while for her to gain confidence serving at the till, she now enjoys chatting with customers too. 

Recently, Caroline joined the True Food committee, putting her communications and marketing experience to good use. She helped write the Co-op’s successful bid to the National Lottery Community Fund which will support shop improvements and boost energy efficiency. Caroline says she’s excited to see how True Food continues to grow. “We want to encourage more people to see the value in buying loose foods, reducing waste and choosing organic, putting their trust in True Food to offer high-quality products at a fair price.”