Social supermarket launches two new pop-up stores
A social supermarket which is helping people in Charnwood access affordable shopping has opened two new pop-up stores in Shelthorpe and Mountsorrel.
Your Store which was created last year by a partnership involving Charnwood Borough Council, John Storer Charnwood, The Bridge East Midlands and Charnwood Food Poverty Group aims to support people who are eligible and may currently be using food banks transition to more independence by becoming a Your Store member.
Over the first three months around 140 households have carried out a weekly shop either at the main Your Store shop at John Storer House in Loughborough or one of the two new pop-ups in Mountsorrel and Shelthorpe.
Cllr Leigh Harper-Davies, the Council’s lead member for community support and equalities said: “Your Store is the result of fantastic partnership working between a number of organisations and I would like to thank everyone who has been involved for their help and dedication to the project. A huge thank you also goes to the many businesses and volunteers that have kindly donated their time and services to help get this project up and running. The Council is committed to creating healthy communities and these pop-ups will ensure more residents across the borough can access affordable shopping. Your Store also provides an additional layer of support to help people with issues around budgeting, health and wellbeing and employment support.”
Many local businesses have been involved with the project including supermarkets and local trade services which helped to build the Loughborough store. A group of volunteers have also been offering support by helping to run the shop.
Your Store shelves have been filled thanks to the support of companies such as Samworth Brothers, Fairshare, Everards, Morrisons, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and local Co-ops and pubs. There has also been fantastic generosity shown by members of the public and local community groups, schools and churches with additional support through grants and other funding.
Eligible Your Store members were initially identified through local food banks as part of the support from the Charnwood Food Poverty Group, and over 250 households in the borough have already registered as members.
Members are being referred through local agencies but can also visit the Your Store website, the main shop or a pop-up store to complete an initial application to check if they are eligible.
In addition to one shop each week, a £3 weekly Your Store membership gives members access to a wide range of support to address any areas of concern they may have.
The Your Store assessment team work with members to develop a personal plan, identify concerns and help them access support. Support is available across a wide range of areas including budgeting, debt advice, struggles with health and wellbeing, employment, family life and loneliness.
Joe McSharry, chair of the Charnwood Food Poverty Group, said: “The concept of Your Store is the type of innovative and strategic partnership work that is needed to tackle food poverty in Charnwood. Both the main store and pop-up shops are providing a vital service not only around food provision, but the additional support which is required to help people identify and address the causes of food poverty. If you are experiencing crisis or would like to build capacity, I would encourage you to see how you could benefit from becoming a Your Store member. Everyone’s situation is different, and we understand asking for help can be the first difficult step, but support is available, and change is possible.”
Paul Snape, deputy chief officer at The Bridge East Midlands said: “As strategic lead for the Charnwood Food Poverty Group, we are committed to tackling food poverty in the borough and are pleased to see the pop-up stores up and running. The weekly shop can cause financial strain on households and the pop-ups are bringing the concept of Your Store right into the heart of local communities in Charnwood. We hope by continuing to work with partners and local communities, more pop-ups will be able to open across the borough in the next few months.”
Karen Frostick, director at John Storer Charnwood said: “Thank you to everyone involved in the project so far including our excellent volunteers. We’re proud to be working with partners to help people take the difficult steps to becoming more independent with their food shopping. We have been really pleased with the response to the main Your Store shop in Loughborough and it is great to see pop-up stores open in Mountsorrel and Shelthorpe. Through a weekly membership, the pop-up stores will provide a similar service to the main shop including access to affordable food and a safe environment to address different areas of concern through personal plans.”
Your Store Shelthorpe is located at and supported by volunteers of The Good Shepherd Church Hall and is available to members of Your Store every Saturday from 11.00am-12.00pm.
Your Store Mountsorrel, partly funded by the Mountsorrel Community Fund, is available every Thursday between 11.00am-1.00pm and can be found at the Mountsorrel Memorial Centre.
For more information about Your Store, including the pop-up shops please visit https://yourstorecharnwood.org.uk/
Your Store – how it works
Your Store is a social supermarket based at John Storer House in Charnwood offering its members an affordable shop alongside a wide range of support and advice
- Charnwood Food Poverty Group assess people currently using foodbanks and if suitable, offer them the opportunity to become members of Your Store
- Membership costs £3 per week when they visit and includes one weekly shop at Your Store. Each shop will be made up of a range of food items, that would be around a quarter of the cost in a similar shop from a supermarket. Members will also be able to buy additional items such as cleaning, personal hygiene and baby products at affordable prices.
- Each member will receive a one-to-one assessment and will be given a personal support plan to help them with things like debt advice and support, budgeting, health and wellbeing, adult learning, employment support, cooking and volunteering opportunities.
- Your Store Loughborough will be managed by John Storer House and local volunteers, and it is hoped Your Store members will also volunteer to become part of the team.
- The food and goods on the Your Store shelves will come from a number of sources including FareShare, supermarket and community donations alongside food purchased through funding.
- Your Store will also focus on reducing food waste both through FareShare deliveries and other initiatives.
Fareshare is the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, made up of 18 independent organisations. Together, they take good quality surplus food from across the food industry and get it to more than 10,500 frontline charities and community groups.