In 2018, FCF embarked on an ambitious campaign to crowdsource equity to buy the warehouse they'd rented for over 12 years. Along with 512 fellow investors, Food Connect Shed was born to create a community-owned local food hub. It was the first Australian social enterprise to do this, and the first Queensland-based business.
Why own a warehouse? Because we believe in order for food systems to transform, we need the hard infrastructure, as well as the people and talent, to be community owned and led.
Why equity crowdfunding? Because we wanted to demonstrate a different way for communities to pool their resources, in partnership with impact investors, to raise money collectively and own a piece of the solution.
Between cold room and packing facilities, commercial kitchens for hire, solar powered office spaces and a vibrant event space, Food Connect Shed provides the shared hard infrastructure necessary to aggregate, market and distribute regionally sourced, regeneratively grown food.
For more, visit Food Connect Shed.