A community shop is doing all it can to help people who are forced to choose between eating and heating their homes as the cost of living crisis continues.
Many households are finding themselves struggling more in recent months as prices soar, with more people in debt through no fault of their own. One shop in Warrington - The Community Grocery - decided to take action after it opened just one month ago.
Through discounted shopping methods, it has already helped hundreds of people as the cost of living continues to have a tight grip, Cheshire Live reports. One woman, who did not wish to be named, found herself in debt as she was forced to choose between eating or heating.
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After her dad was given six months to live following a cancer diagnosis, the woman quit her job to care for him. She said: "It was tough. It was a combination of choosing which, did I eat or did I put the heating on? As for accessing foodbanks, as a parent, I found it really difficult.
"My dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer. And he was given six months to live. It was a tough time because I'd been raised by him from the age of 11. I decided to resign from my job, so I can become sole carer for him. He soon died after I moved in and I became really depressed."
Those who visit the store can buy a basket of groceries for £4 that would be worth around £30 in a supermarket as donations are made from the community, charities and businesses. Manager Pete McDade said the project is a partnership between the Message Trust in Manchester, and local church, Life Church.
He added: "Obviously, it's a shop. It's available for anyone who needs it, it's five pounds membership per year, and then they could shop twice a week and get a four pound shop each time they come. A four pound shop gets you around about 30 pounds worth of food that it would cost you in a normal supermarket.
"So obviously it helps lower the costs overall for a family each week. So far we have 636 members signed up using the Warrington Community Grocery. The majority of people are from Warrington and the majority are actually from this postcode area.
"It's not means tested, so you don't have to provide a driver's licence or bank details, but obviously it works on faith really, that people use it to shop and we just make it open to anyone who needs it."
Differing from a food bank, Peter said you "shop just like any other shop" but people who come in get seven different shelf items, including five portions of fruit and veg, a bakery item, anything off clearance and one none-food item.
Lukas Dewhirst, lead pastor at the Life Church in Orford, added: "We're delighted to have Community Grocery as part of our site here in Orford. It is an opportunity during this cost of living crisis for people who live in Warrington to come in and get food and a shop at a very reasonable price which for us as a family is amazing during this crisis. We really appreciate all that the Message Trust and the grocery do."
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