The Community Shop social enterprise is to open a new store in the Wakefield town of Knottingley, West Yorkshire, which will help provide hundreds of local people at risk of food poverty with access to affordable nourishment.
The opening of the new store on Knottingley’s Pontefract Road is set for December 15 and has been supported by The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, the only UK organisation dedicated to supporting former mining communities that have suffered from deprivation and lack of opportunity since the coal mining industry dwindled.
The Trust owns the property where the new store will be based and is providing it to Community Shop on a rent-free basis.
Open to members of the Community Shop scheme, Community Shop stores provide locals with access to high-quality, low-cost food and household products, as well as providing further support through personal development programmes. Programmes range from cookery clubs and home budgeting advice sessions, right through to business courses and vital skills for job interviews.
Community Shop membership is targeted toward local people who receive welfare support and wish to make positive changes to their lives.
Many of the products sold in Community Shops are donated by major manufacturers and retailers and would have otherwise gone to waste. All donated items are perfectly edible or usable, but are often surplus to requirements having been incorrectly labelled, seasonally packaged or been overstocked in store. Items are usually reduced by 50 per cent compared to the typical retail asking price, making them ideal for families operating on tight budgets.
The Knottingley store will be the eighth Community Shop to be opened overall and the first to be based in West Yorkshire, serving 750 members and creating eight employment opportunities. It will also include a Community Kitchen, which will offer hot meals to members and their families.
Revenue generated from in-store sales will be invested in the local Community Hub where Community Shop’s personal development support programmes are provided.
Community Shop chief, Natalie Brown, told The Pontefract and Castleford Express: “We are so pleased to be opening Community Shop Knottingley, and particularly to be expanding our offer in Yorkshire, where our Community Shop began.
“The support we provide is focused around empowering and building stronger individuals and more confident communities and over the past year this has been more essential than ever before, so we are looking forward to reaching even more individuals and families across the Wakefield area.
“As always, we would not have been able to get to this position without the support of our partners, especially The Coalfields Regeneration Trust and Wakefield Council. We will continue to work closely with local organisations and partners to make Community Shop Knottingley a reality, and we would encourage anyone who is interested in learning more about how to help make a positive social impact locally to get in touch.”
CEO of The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, Gary Ellis, commented: “We are very pleased to be supporting Community Shop Knottingley. Having witnessed first-hand the economic and social impact that these stores have on our communities, we know that it will make a big difference to those that need support the most.
“While we continue to work with some of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country, it is innovative thinking and partnership working that delivers greatest change.”
The year 2021 brings the 22nd anniversary of The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, with today [November 29] marking the third National Coalfields Day, an annual event created to celebrate former mining communities and share experiences of what makes these areas so unique.
Ellis said: “Meeting the complex needs of our communities is no simple task. Every neighbourhood is different, and each has its challenges. What we want to do is to create the infrastructure that will return these small cities, towns and villages to the once thriving locations they were.
“This is why we celebrate November 29 as the annual National Coalfields Day, to raise the profile of these communities and the projects and people that help make a difference in these areas every single day.”
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons
