A preview image of the final cookbook, which is now available for pre-order. Photo: Canberra Food Co-operative.
The Canberra Food Co-operative celebrates its 50th birthday this year.
Beginning as an initiative of the ANU Students’ Association in 1976, the Food Co-op has since grown into an independent organisation with an organic bulk food shop, cafe, event space and vital community third space for students, foodies, activists, artists and city-dwellers alike.
This community institution has seen thousands of members come and go through various locations over the years, all leaving their mark. Any attempt to catalogue its history was always going to be a mammoth task.
But in true Co-op style, a group of enthusiastic volunteers were keen to make it happen. The Co-op history working group started scouring records in 2024, and this year merged their efforts with a working group looking to put together a cookbook.
The result is Food for People, a beautiful book that celebrates the history of the Food Co-op and offers plenty of recipes featuring ingredients found in the shop and dishes served at the cafe.
Tyla Bickley has been a member of the Food Co-op since 2017, when she joined just days after arriving in Canberra as an ANU student and quickly found her first local friends. Tyla was one of the volunteers on the book project.
She told Region that the process has given her a newfound appreciation for the Food Co-op.
“The Food Co-op has always been a central point in my life, but this project made me realise what an amazing community asset it is,” she said.
“One of the biggest takeaways from the history was that [the Co-op] has quite often been in a state of insecurity and at a precipice of not knowing whether it could carry on. But every time, it’s been pulled out by the people who are involved at that time and who see the value in it.
“We’ve faced a lot over the last 50 years, so we can do it again!”
The history chapter takes readers through the historical foundations of the co-operative model, the founding of the Canberra Food Co-op, different locations, challenges and ‘eras’. It celebrates the many aspects of Co-op life. This history is told through the voices of members past and present who have been a part of the journey.
Emergency Dahl is a recipe everyone needs for feeding a hungry crowd! Photo: The Canberra Food Co-op.
The second half of the book is a collection of over 60 vegetarian recipes (many vegan) contributed by Food Co-op members. Some are favourite dishes to cook at home from ingredients purchased at the Food Co-op; others are classic lunch meals or baked goods that customers will have enjoyed over the years.
“In the history section there’s someone from the early 90s talking about how much they loved Silke’s Poppyseed Cake, and 30 years later her recipe is in the book,” Tyla explained.
“There’s a really nice variety of dishes and cuisines, and lots of lentils! At one point we wondered, ‘Do we really need four different recipes for dahl in there?’ But what is a Co-op cookbook without a lot of dahl!?”
One dahl recipe is fondly titled Co-op Emergency Dahl, a recipe that hangs on the kitchen wall to provide a quick, easy last-minute lunch, no matter who is cooking! Other recipes include Keri’s Sprouts, Paul’s Very Flexible Soup, and the Co-op’s Famous Chai.
The Chickpea Chronicles was an often satirical and humorous newsletter published by the Co-op in the 70s and 80s. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
The book is filled with memories from former members who have since moved away, poems and artwork and old editions of The Chickpea Chronicle Co-op newsletter.
It begins with a foreword from local author, food writer and Food Co-op board member Lucy Ridge (aka, yours truly). The photography – provided by co-op members Adhyan Dhull and Sophie Hyland-Fitch – offers a glimpse into the everyday warmth of the space, and is interspersed with historical and nostalgic images collected from members.
Food for People will be officially launched on 24 October at a market day event held in collaboration with Sly Fox Markets on the bike path between Macarthur Avenue and Turner Primary School.
The Co-op will also be celebrating with a members-only birthday dinner later this year.
The front of the book states that it contains ‘recipes & memories from the first 50 years’, which has led Tyla to think about the next 50 years:
“I’ve been daydreaming about the 100th anniversary. I hope I’m an old woman being interviewed by the young people who are putting the next history project together!”
Food for People is now available for pre-order on the Canberra Food Co-operative’s website.
The Canberra Food Co-operative is located at 3 Kingsley Street, Canberra. Follow the Co-op on Facebook or Instagram. Find out more about becoming a member at a new member induction, held from 11 am to 12 pm on the first Saturday of every month.
