Your Local Pantry is a volunteer-led community initiative originally created by Stockport Homes. For just £2.50 per week, members from the local community can do a shop and choose at least 10 grocery items, including free vegetables. Pantries are run for the community, by the community, aimed at helping to stretch budgets further and bring people together.
The charity Church Action on Poverty and its partners have now launched Pantries as a 'social franchise', to provide organisations and groups across the UK with all the tools and support they need to set up a Pantry in their local community. This has been achieved in partnership with Stockport Homes and FareShare Greater Manchester, with support from The Bread and Butter Thing and The Shaftesbury Partnership.
Pantries help struggling families make their money go further by:
- reducing food shopping bills (members can save over £500 each year)
- providing advice and support;
- developing skills through volunteering and other opportunities within the project.
Anna Jones, Food Sharing Officer at Stockport Homes, said, “Our Pantries have been supporting Stockport communities since 2013, saving thousands for members and helping to reduce social isolation and financial insecurity. We are thrilled that by launching this franchise we are able to share our learning to benefit even more communities across the whole country.”
Dave Nicholson, Business Development Officer at Church Action on Poverty, said, “This social franchise offer applies the principles of commercial franchising to scaling the social impact of Pantries – helping people on low incomes across the country to help themselves out of food poverty."
* Church Action on Poverty http://www.church-poverty.org.uk/
* Your Local Pantry https://www.yourlocalpantry.co.uk/
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