neighbourhood supermarket
A supermarket run by local people full of tasty food products of your choice.
Imagine a community supermarket, run by you and your neighbours, where you decide what’s on the shelves. It could be filled with local produce, healthy and ethically sourced items or your favourite sweet treats and run by lots of friendly local faces.
How does a community-run supermarket work?
Local people come up with the stock list and how and where the produce for the shop is supplied. For those who would like to pay a little less for their shopping, you could receive a discount in exchange for working shifts in-store. Shifts will be flexible so the hours can be organised to fit with your everyday life.
This project is a great opportunity to get involved in your community and gain some new skills, while making Barking and Dagenham more affordable and sustainable place to live for everyone! If you want to get involved in this idea speak to one of the project designers.
case studies of other projects
People's Supermarket Holborn
A community supermarket in Holborn where members work shifts in exchange for a discount on their weekly/monthly shop. All products are responsibly sourced, connecting urban community with local farming community. Members pay an annual fee of £25 and volunteer 4 hours / month in the store or café. There is also a People’s Kitchen which uses food from shops, mostly that has reached its sell-by date to supply freshly prepared meal and external catering, generating additional sales and reducing food waste.
Home Baked Anfield
Homebaked is a community land trust and co-operative bakery situated on the boundary between the neighbourhoods of Everton and Anfield, just opposite the Liverpool Football Club. The project is co-owned and co-produced by people who live and work in the area. Starting from having saved their iconic neighbourhood bakery from demolition and developed it into a thriving community-run business and the plan to regenerate their high street ‘brick by brick and loaf by loaf’, using money that is spent in the neighbourhood to benefit our communities.
Brixton Community Fridge
A community space in Brixton where the local businesses and members of the community donate perishable food that would have been thrown out. This reduces food waste, builds trust locally and normalises the sharing of foods and other household items. The idea has since expanded to include cooking workshops and the sharing of non-food items such as nappies and kitchen equipment.
Check our project, based on this amazing project in Brixton - Open Fridge!