GROCERIES:
Our groceries are for people who are struggling to make ends meet and need a bit of extra support.
HARROGATE
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KNARESBOROUGH
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HARROGATE ✶ KNARESBOROUGH ✶
COMMUNITY GROCERIES
Are you struggling to afford to buy food and pay your household bills? Do you want to
Be able to buy good quality, nutritious food for much less than you’d pay at a supermarket or local shop?
Shop every week on a fixed budget so there’s no nasty surprises when you get to the checkout?
Choose what you want to buy?
Be part of a welcoming, supportive and inclusive community?
Stop good quality food from going to waste and harming the environment?
If the answer is yes, our community groceries might be right for you!
They offer an affordable way for people on a low income to access good quality food and other household goods.
Some of our food comes from supermarkets and local businesses and it’s donated because of over-supply, which means there’s too much to sell, or because it’s close to its ‘best before’ or ‘use by’ date. We follow tight controls and that’s why we’ve received 5 stars for our environmental health inspections, so the food is always completely safe to eat.
But our groceries are about much more than just food. We also help with things like budgeting, IT skills, work clubs and cookery courses, giving people the confidence and skills they need to thrive.
They’re also about friendship and community. Don’t just take our word for it. Find out how they’ve helped lift people out of food poverty and given them hope by reading our customer stories.
Want to join us? We’re here to help not to judge, so please check out our FAQs for more info about how we can help you.
FAQs
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FAQs ✶
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No. Food banks give food away for free, and choice is limited. Our customers pay to use our service which means they have access to their local community grocery and can choose what they want to buy just like in a normal shop or supermarket.
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For a small annual membership fee of £5 per household, you can shop at your local community grocery once a week at a fixed price per visit and access lots of additional support through the various courses and support sessions we run. Our food supplies are limited, and we buy most of the non-food items ourselves, so these are only for your household and shouldn’t be given to other families or friends.
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Membership of our community groceries is £5 per household for a year. As a member, you can shop once a week at your local community grocery.
Once you’re a member, a 1-3 person household pays £5 per shop for a set number of items. And a family with 4 or more people can get twice as much food and it costs £10 per shop.
This price includes a set number of items from each category (see What will I be able to buy with my membership?). You can try shopping at the grocery twice before you pay for a membership to make sure it’s right for you.
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You’ll be able to buy a selection of items from each category including:
Fresh fruit & vegetables
Freezer items
Chilled items (when available)
Bakery items
Shelf items such as tins, cereals and pasta
Eggs (when available)
Non-food items such as toiletries, washing powder and nappies
Little extras - each week we’ll offer you some extra items
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To sign up, just pop into your local grocery during opening hours. You don’t need to bring proof of income with you but we’ll have a friendly, informal chat to get to know your circumstances before we decide if membership is suitable for you. Being on benefits doesn’t automatically qualify you for membership and we can only sign up people who are genuinely in food poverty. We may need to put you on a waiting list if we’re over-subscribed and have too many members.
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All our members have free access to courses and activities including:
Cookery courses
Budgeting and signposting to debt advice
Work club that provides support with writing a CV, applying for jobs or starting a small business
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Yes! We encourage members to volunteer with us for an hour or two a week or month. The aim is for our community groceries to be run by its members, to support its members.
Where to find us
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New Park Community Hub
New Park Primary Academy, West Street, Harrogate, HG1 3HF
To get here by bus from the town centre, take the number 36 along Ripon Road, get off before the roundabout/after the Jennyfields Drive junction, cross over the road and walk up Omega Street, then you’re on West Street outside the community grocery entrance (look out for the blue gates).
✔ Disabled access
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Gracious Street Methodist Church