“It’s a whole lot more than a fruit and veg store”
Welcome to Dunbar’s
Community Carrot!
The Community Carrot Community Benefit Society Ltd trades as the Crunchy Carrot, a greengrocer and whole foods shop that has been at the heart of Dunbar’s High Street for almost 20 years.
The Crunchy is a whole foods gem; a community hub; a beacon of sustainability; a ticket and events office; a social whirl; a refillery; a local employer; a supplier to local businesses; a green campaigner; a local produce purchaser; a cooking tips and recipe exchange; a purveyor of food for tight budgets, seasonal celebrations, exotic recipe demands, luxurious treats and the simple basics of the weekly shop.
Our Suppliers
We focus on providing flavoursome food from local, ethical and small producers. We champion hyper-local and seasonal fruit and veg and stock a wide range of organic and spray-free produce. So if you want a carrot to taste like a carrot, come to the Crunchy!
Alongside your weekly basics, we also stock hard-to-find ingredients that you can’t find in the supermarkets. But we can’t compete with the unrealistically low prices you find in supermarkets which drive farmers, suppliers and other retailers out of business. We work hard to keep our prices fair for our customers and our suppliers. You can buy items singly or in bulk.
Explore the map of our local suppliers
Saving the Crunchy
The Crunchy Carrot has been at the heart of Dunbar’s High Street for almost 20 years - in fact there has been a greengrocer on that site for the best part of 120 years. As the strap-line reads, and as anyone who has stepped foot in the shop knows: ‘It’s a whole lot more than a fruit and veg store’.
After two decades dedicated to veg the owners had retirement in mind, and we risked losing the Crunchy from Dunbar’s High Street. Over 2019, we raised more than £180,000 to buy the building, business and stock, and it opened as a community-owned shop in the November of that year.
Why Invest?
become part of the crunchy
carrot Community
Shares in the Community Carrot Community Benefit Society can still be bought at any time. All investments are put straight into building a resilient community business committed to positive social action.
Dunbar has a proud tradition of community ownership – Dunbar Community Bakery is an asset to our town, and the support we have received shows how strongly our community feels about the ethical, local, welcoming model the Crunchy Carrot is famous for. Our vision is to stay true to and develop the original ethos of the Crunchy Carrot: a strong ethical and environmentally-friendly focus, sourcing locally where possible, and committed to supporting our community’s social programmes.
What are community shares?
Community shares are ‘withdrawable’ shares that cannot be sold, traded or transferred between members, unlike shares in a typical company. They cannot increase in value (but may go down if the business performs poorly). This form of share capital is unique to co-operative and community benefit societies. Since 2009, almost 120,000 people have invested over £100m to support 350 such businesses throughout the UK. We’re proud to have added the Community Carrot to that list!
how do i become a member?
You can become a member by buying £10 shares in any number, from just one to as many as you like.
Latest from the blog
Featured
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The community carrot
We have raised over £180,000 in total,
which allowed us to buy the building, the business and stock. We secured a grant from the Scottish Land Fund, and raised over £62,000 through a community
share offer.
Read more / Our Mission
Follow Community Carrot on Instagram
A big Thank you to our supporters
The Scottish Land Fund is funded by the Scottish Government and made available through The National Lottery Community Fund. The Scottish Land Fund is being delivered on behalf of the Scottish Government by a partnership between the National Lottery Community Fund and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. There are no lottery funds used in the Scottish Land Fund.