Using food and cooking to bring communities together

Since November 2022 The Community Shop, within Victoria Park, Peel Street was opened as an extension from our original base at The Hub, Havelock St.   Thanks to Challenge Anneka TV production, we were gifted a modular building to run the shop from.  

We buy (using donations and the proceeds from shop sales) and collect surplus food from 4/5 supermarkets each day and are open Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Monday is our volunteer day, were we welcome people to join us to help sort donations ready for opening on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The collection of surplus food is key to the success of the Shop, whilst addressing serious landfill issues.  We are able to collect many food items that would normally have been thrown away and pass them onto people who due to the cost-of-living crisis are having to go without food.   By passing on, perfectly good food to people, it frees up their income to pay for other essential items, fuel, bills etc.  Store cupboard items collected in or bought via Fareshare are sold to customers at discounted prices. This gives people the opportunity to choose the food they’d like rather than being given a bag that may not be of use.  The shop is the perfect place to chat to people about food and recipes and we often share and make meals from ideas given to us from the BAME community that we all wouldn’t normally make.

The shop is non-referal and open to all people who need help and support.

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