Manly Food Co-op Blog and News
All of the content on our website is created by our community. If you love to write, are interested in healthy living, the health of the planet and would like to contribute, please send an email to: marketing@manlyfoodcoop.org. Energy points are available for your time spent contributing and preference is given to our members when choosing contributors.
Plastic waste – why’s it hard to recycle?
Recently the Australian packaging industry admitted that it cannot meet the 2025 target to recycle 70% of plastic waste. The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation has estimated that in 2021 only 16% of plastic waste was recycled and forecasts that the shortfall...
Falafel Rice Bowl with Tahini Sauce
This is a quick and easy dinner that tastes really good. It's similar to a poke bowl in presentation, but instead of raw fish we are using falafel and we're including some baked veggies as well as raw. It takes only as long to prepare as the rice takes to cook - you...
Baked Risotto with Herb Salsa
What better way to celebrate tomato season than a risotto recipe that uses a lot of them! This risotto is delicious, vegetarian, can be made vegan and will even please the meat-eaters due to the rich flavours. The citrus edge to the green herb salsa is a wonderful...
3 waste-free party kit options
Have you ever stared at the bags of waste at the end of a party and thought “there must be a better way”? But it’s hard enough to plan a party without being overwhelmed by trying to make it sustainable as well. Luckily some wonderful people on the Northern Beaches...
RedCycle is dead – what now?
You might have seen in the news that RedCycle is now in liquidation and that Coles and Woolworths have offered to store the stockpiled soft plastics backlog that RedCycle has been unable to process. But is this just greenwashing? Are the big supermarkets even pushing...
How to recycle 5 difficult things locally
Despite our best intentions to buy items for life and avoid packaging, sometimes we have things that need to be thrown out or recycled. But unfortunately only a few types of waste are welcome in our recycling bins. However, it is possible to recycle a lot more things...
Meet the Team: Tracey
Tracey What do you do when you are concerned about all the unnecessary packaging in the world and want to get back in touch with food and community - you volunteer at the Co-op! We talked to Tracey to share her volunteering story. Tracey moved back to Manly late last...
Make a Splash with Olive Oil
Have you ever wondered why Italian cooking is so good? Well, there’s probably lots of reasons, but high up on the list is the abundant use of olive oil as a key ingredient in just about everything. A good olive oil, combined with the very best of seasonal produce, is...
Honey for your Honey
The Manly Food Co-op stocks gorgeous NSW honey in bulk so it's too easy to fill up a jar or two especially with this upcoming Valentine's Day - the perfect honey for your honey! So delicious, pure and sweet! Let's talk about our Honeys - Mid Coast Honey and Castlecrag...
Christmas Gifts at the Manly Food Co-op
Stock up at the Manly Food Co-op on Christmas presents for teachers, loved ones and those hard to buy people in your life! We are now stocking a range of different candles from CandleXchange. Relax, Refill and Reuse with this range of great hand poured natural...
5 Easy Ways to Plastic-Free shop with Manly Food Co-op this Plastic Free July
This July, take just one step towards a plastic free world - visit us. Here are 5 easy ways to plastic-free shop at the Manly Food Co-op this month. Checkout our video below. We would like to thank Itchy Feet Digital for taking some fantastic footage for us recently....
Keelah Lam – Our Founder at Manly Food Co-op
Keelah Lam A little while ago, Business Australia interviewed Manly Food Co-op Founder - Keelah Lam, here's what she had to say. Can you tell us how your passion for the environment started? I grew up in an idyllic neighborhood with bush all around so I’ve always had...
The Country Valley Story
Country Valley processes milk, yoghurt and cream on the Fairley family farm in Picton, 90 kms from Manly. In 2018 the Manly Food Co-op introduced Country Valley bulk milk into the store. The milk arrives into the Co-op in re-usable metal churns and is available for...
We heart hemp seeds
Do you know much about hemp seeds? You’ve probably heard of the environmental benefits of hemp when used for clothing and textiles, and maybe even the concrete replacement hempcrete, but did you also know that hemp seeds are a nutritional powerhouse? Long...
We Are Hiring
We are hiring a new Shop Manager! If you've shopped at the Co-op you'll have an idea of what we're looking for but the detailed job description is below. This role can be offered part or full time, depending on the applicant. The role would be ideal for a someone who...
Re-usable Coffee Cups and Covid
Re-usable coffee cups were an unforeseen Covid casualty with many cafés not accepting their use. Initial concerns over sanitisation safety were the main reason, and this is understandable. As we've all made our way through this new normal, many cafés have reconsidered...
Christmas Gift Ideas
Christmas gift ideas can be tricky at the best of times, but especially if you're: a) on a budgetb) trying to be planet friendly Our clever staff and volunteers have been busy making up a super selection of Christmas gift ideas to cover a range of budgets. Pop in to...
A Sustainable Christmas
Jen, our shop manager, has given us some amazing ideas on how to prepare a sustainable Christmas and how to create hand-made sustainable gifts. Jen is also running her own catering business, Zing Fresh, and is all about sustainable sustenance that looks beautiful. She...
Cheeky Pea Falafel
Cheeky Pea Falafel balls are one of our best sellers at the Co-op. The week beginning 5 November 2020 will feature our falafels as Product of the Week and means they're priced at 25% off - bringing them down to 92 cents each! This is also a good opportunity for us to...
Composting your kitchen food waste is easy!
When food waste is composted it turns into healthy, nutrient rich soil that is medicine for your garden or pot plants. Less methane, and no leachate!
Walnut Miso Broth (Serves 4)
Adapted from an Anna Jones recipe, this simple miso broth is both regenerative and full of flavour. The killer twist of it is the walnut miso paste. The umami flavours of miso and the crunch of walnuts completely transform this dish into a bowl of satisfying flavour....
Umeboshi Plums and a Japanese Snack
Have you heard of Umeboshi plums? One of our members recently wrote to comment that, "Your Ume plum is the best in Manly!! Thank you for providing us the healthy Japanese products." Along with the comment Mayumi shared a traditional recipe for a cleansing dish called...
How To Wear and Care for Your Mask
We actively encourage the use of masks when you shop at Manly Food Co-op. Like most grocery stores, it's very hard to socially distance when shopping at your Co-op. Wearing a mask adds an extra element of safety for everyone. As a zero waste advocate we also strongly...
A COVID Safe Co-op
Your Co-op has come a long way since declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 11th, 2020. After initially closing to set up an online order system, we have gradually opened up the shop. We are now operating near normal, and it's easy to forget how far we've come....
Tips for a Plastic Free Life
These tips are designed to go hand in hand with our recent posts about Plastic Free July that you can find here and here. Going plastic free is a journey, and we can all use a few handy tips now and then to help us through. Shopping Tips Get into the habit of shopping...
Plastic Free Entertaining Ideas
Plastic free entertaining sometimes feels like an impossible ideal. If you google party or celebration you will be confronted with a sea of photos that almost exclusively include plastic. Plastic balloons, plastic streamers, plastic cups and plates and more. And for...
Celebrating All The Things (Covid-style)
It might not feel a lot like a time for celebrating at the moment. And indeed it is not for a lot of people. But we feel like it's important to acknowledge all that we've been through in the past four months. Every single one of us has dealt with curve balls they...
Plastic Free July 2020 – Pick One Thing
The way I figure it, everyone is on a plastic free journey of some sort. We live in a community where we have an amazing local co-op stocking our favourite plastic free groceries. Not everyone has this luxury. The important thing for us at the Manly Co-op is to make a...
Have a Very Eco Christmas
What is an eco Christmas? And how do you go about creating your own eco Christmas? Did you know that Christmas is THE most wasteful time of year? Workers at Kimbriki, our landfill site on the Northern Beaches, dread Christmas. The additional waste generated...
Gift Ideas for an Earth Friendly Christmas
Gift ideas can be a struggle for anyone living a busy life and juggling 101 different tasks in the lead up towards Christmas. We’re here to help you live a zero waste lifestyle, including at Christmas. When it comes to thinking about Christmas gifts,...