Social enterprise marks 10-year milestone

John Healey MP with councillor for Dearne South Abi Moore (second right) and store manager Mark Howorth. Photo by Kerrie Beddows

The Community Shop in Goldthorpe celebrated its 10th birthday at its Barnsley Road HQ with a visit from John Healey MP who worked with the shop’s founders, the Company Shop, to help create the UK’s first social supermarket chain back in 2013.

The Community Shop sells discounted food and offers help and advice to people on means-tested benefits.

Its aim is to deliver affordable, dignified, and sustainable food aid for individuals and families living on the cusp of food poverty.

The facility also helps to build confidence by giving people purpose, and nurtures stronger communities.By providing its members with life-changing learning and development programmes, Community Shop's motto is “a hand-up, not a hand-out.”

Wentworth and Dearne MP John Healey said: “Over the last ten years the Community Shop has helped thousands of people locally when they needed it most.

“The shop provides families and individuals with a way to make their budgets go further at a time when the cost of living is so tight.

“Thank you to everyone involved in the project for making such a huge impact on people’s lives.

“I’m proud that our store in Goldthorpe led the way for others across the country a decade ago.”

Since opening, the store in Goldthorpe has supported 4,643 local families, with members having saved more than £9million on their shopping baskets and shared in excess of five 5 million meals in the Community Hubs and Kitchens.

The Community Hub provides Success Plan which covers subjects including health and wellbeing and money matters, while Community Kitchen offers activities such as cook clubs, seasonal activities and family events.

Owen McLellan, managing director at Company Shop Group, said: “It is a real honour to be marking and celebrating the incredible impact that Community Shop has achieved.

“It is reflective of the hard-work of our colleagues, and the immense goodwill and commitment of the wider industry to combating food waste and food poverty in a sustainable and community-led way.

“We have high ambitions for the years ahead and we hope to work with even more businesses and organisations as we bring our mission of building stronger individuals and more confident communities through surplus food to life.”