10 December 2023
St Francis Community Church in Chelmsford has set up a pop-up ‘social food store’ for families who are struggling to afford food amid the cost-of-living crisis.
St Francis Community Pop Up Food Store first launched at Ford End Village Hall in June 2023 and has since expanded to run sessions at St Andrew’s Church in Melbourne.
The pop-up food store operates on a membership basis. On the first visit, shoppers receive a bag which acts as their membership card and is then brought along on each visit. The first week costs £10 which covers the membership and first week’s shopping. From then on, shoppers pay £5 for a bag of groceries worth £20–30.
The store is open every Tuesday at both locations – mornings in Ford End and afternoons in Melbourne. As well as being able to pick up essential food supplies, shoppers are warmly welcomed by volunteers who offer a listening ear and provide teas and coffees.
St Francis Community Church part-fund the project with money received through the Church of England’s Strategic Development Fund. It is also supported by Chelmsford City Council and Essex County Council who helped secure a grant of £20,000 from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund which was used to purchase an old supermarket van to transport food.
Additional funding has been secured through the Essex Association of Local Councils for the supply of winter warmer packs to provide families with winter essentials and Christmas treats in the run up to the festive season.
Ruth Pierce, Community Organiser, at St Francis Community Church, who was instrumental in setting up the pop-up food store commented:
“Before launching the pop-up food store, I worked closely with the Chelmsford Food Alliance and Essex County Council to research the best locations. We found people living more rurally spend more money on transport to access food, impacting on already tight budgets.It became clear there was a need for a mobile pop-up store that can travel close to where people live, rather than restricted to one central location.
"Our tagline is to offer ‘a helping hand with your weekly shop’ and we really want to support those in the local community and take the sting out of the weekly shop.”
-
St Francis Community Pop Up Food Store is at St Andrew's, Melbourne every Tuesday 2pm-4pm
-
St Francis Community Pop Up Food Store is at Ford End Village Hall every Tuesday 9am -11am
-
Ruth Pierce sets up the Community Pop Up Food Store each week with help from many volunteers
-
The pop-up food store operates on a membership basis. On the first visit, shoppers receive a bag which acts as their membership card and is then brought along on each visit.
