Food & Solidarity adopts a BDS procurement policy
Food & Solidarity adopts a BDS procurement policy
What this means for members and neighbours
Adopted by members at our General Meeting on 29 August 2025. Read the TL;DR or scroll for the full explanation and the join form.
Skip to TL;DRTL;DR (summary)
At our General Meeting on 29 Aug 2025 members voted to add a member rule committing Food & Solidarity to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in our purchasing choices. In practice, we will ask suppliers not to deliver goods or services grown or made in Israel, follow BDS consumer-boycott guidance, and if Israeli-produced food arrives it will not go into members' parcels, we will buy replacements and donate the original goods to other organisations. Parcels and membership continue as normal; read on for practical detail and how to join.
What we actually voted for
Members voted to add a procurement rule to Food & Solidarity's rules so that our buying decisions reflect solidarity with Palestinians. That means:
- We will ask suppliers that the goods/services they provide are not grown or made in Israel.
- We will follow the BDS movement's 'Consumer boycott priority targets' guidance (their priority-targets list) when buying food and services.
- If Israeli-produced food arrives in a delivery, it will not be packed into members' parcels, we will immediately buy a replacement for the parcels and donate the delivered goods to a food poverty organisation that will accept them.
This is a member-led decision and has been codified in our rule after a formal vote.
What this looks like day-to-day
- Ordering: before we place orders, we check with wholesalers to confirm origin; all of our wholesalers have confirmed they will comply with this policy.
- Deliveries: if a delivered item matches the boycott criteria, it is removed from parcel packing; we buy a replacement immediately so parcels go out on time; the original delivered goods are donated to other groups to avoid food waste.
- Supplier changes already made: we moved away from HP ink/printer supplies after 2023 (after being made aware that HP were on the Consumer boycott priority target list), we believe that change is an example of the policy in action and aligns with the BDS priority-targeting guidance.
Why members voted for this
As a member-led group, our political commitments are decided and enacted by members. The vote on 29 August 2025 reflects a collective decision: we want our day-to-day organising, buying food and running parcel services, to match our values of solidarity. This policy is about using our collective buying power alongside our community work for food and housing justice.
So does this change membership or parcels?
- Will this stop parcels? No. Parcels go out as normal; replacements are provided where needed.
- Are people excluded from membership? No. This is a procurement rule, not a membership test. The BDS rules specify that these are not about individual identity, but activities, events and projects.
- Food waste: we prioritise replacement purchases and donations for any delivered goods we don't include in parcels.
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