A social supermarket and community coffee shop, providing essential support to households experiencing financial hardship. We support vulnerable families by offering affordable groceries and access to financial guidance, empowering them to overcome challenges and achieve long-term stability. Through a holistic approach, we offer budget management support, practical skills training, and volunteer opportunities, helping individuals and families regain control of their finances and avoid dependency on crisis services like food banks. We offer heavily discounted items up to 75% cheaper or free in extreme cases, the coffee shop offers free food to members who struggle to cook a hot meal.
The need for our service has never been more urgent, as we see unprecedented demand. Each day, more families queue at our doors, highlighting the growing economic pressures on our community. Our social supermarket offers low-cost food, allowing families to access nutritious meals while staying within tight budgets. Alongside this, our cooking demonstrations teach participants how to prepare healthy, cost-effective meals, stretching their resources further.
We also offer personalised financial advice and budgeting sessions, giving individuals the tools they need to manage their money effectively, avoid debt, and navigate financial challenges. Our volunteer training programme boosts employability and confidence, giving participants practical work experience that can help them re-enter the workforce. By gaining life skills and offering volunteer training, we help improve employability, boosting our members’ confidence and independence.
Working alongside organisations like Citizens Advice, our local Job Centre and Seetec, we ensure members have access to essential advice on welfare, employment, and energy support, helping them build a pathway towards long-term financial stability.
Through these targeted services, we are making a tangible difference in the lives of the most vulnerable members of our community, enabling them to overcome financial hardship and regain control of their future.
Tell us how your project Aligns with the theme chosen?
Our project directly supports financial wellbeing and sustainability by equipping vulnerable households with the tools to achieve long-term financial independence. In response to rising demand, we seek funding to provide energy-saving equipment for our members, such as Soup Kettles and Foodi Multi Cookers, to ensure they can cook hot, nutritious meals efficiently, even when household energy costs are high. This not only helps families manage their finances but also contributes to their wellbeing by ensuring they can prepare healthy meals on a budget. Electric blankets (snuggles) to stay warm
As our resources are increasingly stretched, and our food stock depletes at a rapid pace, we provide low-cost, nutritious food that enables families to reduce their reliance on food banks. Our financial literacy sessions empower members to manage their income effectively, while our volunteer programmes provide opportunities for skill development, improving their long-term financial stability.
Our project helps to break the cycle of dependency by providing essential skills and knowledge, gaining a culture of self-sufficiency, and promoting sustainability at both an individual and community level. This aligns with our commitment to sustainability in the community, exemplified by initiatives such as creating a recycled-material bench from collected bottle caps.
Why is this funding required? What drives the need and how will the funds be spent?
Our charity is experiencing record-high demand, with more families than ever relying on us to access food, financial guidance, and skill-building opportunities. The queues outside our doors each morning is a stark reminder of how much the community depends on our support. Food insecurity and financial stress are at their peak, and holiday seasons only add to the strain.
At the same time, our resources are being stretched thin. Our food stock is depleting at a rapid pace, and our donations reduce, without more funding, we may not be able to provide families with the essentials they need. Year-end 2022/23 we spent 22k, increase in demand showed 48k year-end 23/24; these funds would help towards sustaining our stock levels
We rely heavily on volunteers who are the backbone of our operations, but we need to offer incentives to keep them motivated during these challenging times. Through our dedicated team of volunteers, (32) many of whom bring lived experience to the table, we not only provide essential services but also help skills training in a real workplace setting. This approach not only empowers individuals with newfound qualifications and confidence but also strengthens their CVs, paving the way for sustainable employment opportunities