A Byker store which offers a weekly shop for £4 says a "massive sense of community" has been created since it opened in February last year.
The Newcastle Community Grocery underneath Kingdom Life Church on Heaton Road opened in February 2022 with the aim of supporting families through the cost of living crisis. However, 16 months later, food inflation is seeing the sharpest increase in 45 years with a record annual increase of 15.7% and the crisis shows no signs of ending anytime soon.
However, managers and volunteers at the store say that while families are under immense pressure to make ends meet, there are plenty of positives at what is literally a bargain basement shop. One of 22 around the country, users can get a basket of food which includes 12 items at £4 (the price has increased by £1 since opening), which includes fresh fruit and veg, shelf items, frozen and bakery items, and non-food items such as toiletries - once they have paid a £5 annual membership.
But Jill Mallen, regional development manager for community groceries, says the Byker store has become so much more. She told ChronicleLive: "We build community through classes that we run, whether that's art or money management. People like the sense of camaraderie.
"We are helping them at a difficult time and they find friendship, volunteers are here to chat things through, and we reach out to people as well."
The community grocery is modelled on a "vintage farm shop", as are all around the country, with Jill adding: "We want to give dignified shopping and that's why it's presented so well, it's not just a discount shop that's shoved together." Those who use it are not means tested, so while some families are coming because their finances are stretched, others may come with the aim of reducing food waste, by buying shop that has been bought in surplus from supermarkets.
Store manager Josh Cremer swapped his job as a scientist for the Grocery in April 2023. He said: "It's a joy to come in and to be there for people to chat things through. We don't make much of a profit, it's just about providing everything as cheap as we can to make sure everyone is fed, we love our communities and we don't want anyone to go hungry."
And volunteers enjoy being there too. 72-year-old Norman Hutton said: "It gets me out of the house for a kick off and I meet people around here who I wouldn’t normally meet and that’s very interesting and stimulating. There's all this produce here for people to buy and I think that's very good offering something to help them out if they're finding things a bit difficult.
"When nurses are having to use food banks, it's a shocking reality how far people are having to go to make ends meet."
And food inflation means the challenges to running such a facility have increased. Store manager Josh said: "It's a shame that we're still in the same position. It (the cost of living crisis) is not great for anyone but that's why we're here.
"We're working to keep the prices as low as we possibly can, we're here to make sure families across Newcastle are able to have food. We don't want families starving, so everything's as affordable as we can possibly make it."
Regional manager Jill added: "I think it's hard to source food so we're having to buy more in to be able to offer it to people in their baskets. It's always that juggling because we want to remain sustainable but there aren't as many donations out there."
But for now, there is enough food to go around for customers, as ChronicleLive saw on our recent visit. If you'd like to volunteer or sign up to the Community Grocery, visit the website.
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