Shoppers can visit twice a week for an annual £5 membership fee
A store offering more than £30 of groceries for £4 will open in Blackpool this month as the cost of living crisis continues to send food prices soaring.
Following on from the successful launch of a similar store in Burnley, Blackpool Community Grocery will open at Kings Church on Bispham Road. Shoppers simply need to sign up for a membership to use the store where they can also access services and courses dealing with debt, mental health, cookery and more.
The shop is aimed at people struggling to pay for food and designed to offer more independence and choice than food banks. For an annual £5 membership fee, people are able to visit twice a week to pick up a range of products including fresh fruit and vegetables, tinned goods, baked items, frozen food, sanitary and household items, thanks to donations by local suppliers and supermarkets.
An initiative of national charity The Message Trust, the store is being run in partnership with Kings Church. The store will be the newest Community Grocery to open, with seventeen other stores across England already helping to feed over 20,000 families.
Andy Hawthorne OBE, Chief Executive and Founder of The Message Trust said: “Escalating fuel and food prices are having a massive impact on everyone’s lives. But for many it’s made life so difficult that they are having to choose every day between heating or eating. We can’t stand by and do nothing, so the Community Groceries are here to help. Bridging the gap between supermarkets and foodbanks, we’re here to make it easier for our members to put food on the table by reducing the cost of the weekly shop, whilst also providing them with support and courses too. Over 20,000 members across the UK are now shopping in stores, and we can’t wait to welcome people to Blackpool Community Grocery from 21 June.
“We are very excited to be opening the Community Grocery in partnership with The Message Trust. The store and the added-value services provided will have such a beneficial impact on our community. Kings Church Blackpool believe that this type of community service is part of the Christian faith in action. We look forward to meeting new members in the store and offering other wrap-around support services in addition to their weekly shop,” said Chris Jones, Kings Church Blackpool Pastor.
To find out more about Blackpool Community Grocery head to communitygrocery.org.uk
- 05:10, 8 JUN 2022
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