A new Byker shop is helping combat the rising cost of living by offering full baskets of food for just £3.
As prices skyrocket, families across the North East are struggling to make ends meet - with some forced to choose between heating their homes and feeding their children.
The Newcastle Community Grocery aims to help those hit hardest by the soaring costs by offering weekly shops at a huge discount.
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For a £5 annual membership fee, shoppers can do three full grocery shops a week, paying just £3 a time.
Located on Heaton Road, in the building of the Kingdom Life Church, it's open to all with no means testing: anyone who needs it can sign up for membership.
For their £3, members can pick up:
- Five portions of fresh fruit or veg
- Seven shelf items, such a pasta, sauces, tinned foods etc.
- One frozen item
- One bakery item, such as bread
- One non-food item, such as toiletries
The shop also operates a 'pay it forward' scheme, allowing those who can afford it to fund memberships or shops for those struggling the most. Unlike with many foodbanks, there's no need for people to prove why they need help and they're able to pick their favourites from a wide selection of items, just like in an ordinary supermarket
Manager Steve Royal said support was offered with "no judgement" and was available to the thousands of people who may not be eligible for benefits or other help but are still struggling to get by.
He said: "We have no restrictions on who can come along, obviously it's targetted at people who are on the lower end of the income scale, people who are finding it really tough with all the price increases and things that are going on at the moment, but it's a long-term thing, it's not a quick fix...
"Everyone I've heard are all saying pretty much the same thing: I'm struggling to make ends meet, it's getting to the end of the week, I haven't been paid, this makes such a difference. I have had people ringing me up and saying 'I've had the choice of putting the heating on or eating', one lady rang me saying 'I'm really cold, I would rather starve and be warm' - so this is going to make such a difference."
The shop is stocked with donations from supermarkets, as well as extras bought using donated cash, and much of the food on sale would otherwise be bound for landfill, meaning the store cuts waste while helping those in need.
Shopper Mark Thompson, from Byker, said: "I love it here. I know what it's like to hit hard times because I used to be homeless myself. The church here have done nothing but help and support me and with the shop opening up it will benefit the whole community.
"We're one of the richest countries in the world and we shouldn't have foodbanks or shops like this, but as usual the government is not doing enough to help people, so thank God there are places like this."
The shop is one of ten across the country run by Christian organisation The Message Trust, which plans to open more in the coming months.
Manager Jill Mallen helped start the first Community Grocery, which was opened in Manchester in 2020. She said there were "queues out of the door" at the opening of the first shop - a scene that was replicated when the Newcastle branch opened this week.
She said: "We opened during lockdown and we had people who had lost their jobs, people who were actually crying because they were so overwhelmed at finding the place and the support and help it could offer them, and it just grew from there because it was so in demand.
"It's more than a shop: we are part of the community, we are here to help the whole person. It's not like a foodbank, you can use it like a normal shop. We also offer courses and support and the main thing is that we are welcoming, we're here to build community."
Find out more at: https://www.facebook.com/CommunityGroceryNewcastle
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