Down to Earth Community Supplies Limited

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.