Lupset community centre opens low-cost food pantry for those in need

A community centre in Lupset has opened a low-cost food club which will provide members with their choice of groceries and household items for £5 a week
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St George’s Community Centre opened the food pantry last week to provide those in need with a low-cost alternative to the supermarket.

With a one-off joining fee and a weekly shopping charge of £5, members of the club will have the opportunity to select what groceries and food items they want from the pantry.

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The initiative was partly funded by the local grant-giving charity, Wakefield and District Health and Community Support, and is being run in collaboration with St. Swithun’s Community Centre and Havercroft and Ryhill Learning Centre.

Users will get to choose the items they want from the pantry.Users will get to choose the items they want from the pantry.
Users will get to choose the items they want from the pantry.

The chief executive of St. George’s Community Centre, Berni O’Brian, said: “Prior to the pandemic, the food bank was open for one day a week. Once the Covid-19 lockdown came, it went to five days as the demand increased.

"As we come out of the pandemic, we have cut the food bank back down to three days a week and we are back to doing collections during the transition period to the food pantry. For a long time, we’ve felt that food parcels are good and that they work when there is an emergency, but actually, there is something very undignified by saying, ‘here is a bag of food you can eat’.

"So, alongside other partners, we are trialling the concept of a food pantry. Emergency food parcels will always be available but the significant amount of difference is that people get their dignity back and can choose the food they want to eat.”

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Membership is for those who are in need of low-cost food and costs £5 to join with a weekly fee of £5.

It costs £5 a week to use the pantry.It costs £5 a week to use the pantry.
It costs £5 a week to use the pantry.

Members get free bags for life, freezer bags and freezer blocks to transport their food home with them, which they will be required to bring back with them each week as part of the terms of the scheme.

Depending on family size and circumstance, individuals will be able to shop at the pantry at least once a week.

Berni said: “Membership is open to those in need. The whole idea is to support people for whatever reason, whether they’ve had a major bill, fallen into arrears or lost their job, with food. Saying that, the criteria is flexible depending on need.”

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She added: “It also means that as we get to know our users, we can offer our other services to them. We hope our users can move from a position of not having sufficient money to buy the food they need to a more independent place, moving in the right direction.”

The 'Walk-in Wardrobe' was launched in 2019.The 'Walk-in Wardrobe' was launched in 2019.
The 'Walk-in Wardrobe' was launched in 2019.

Alongside the food pantry is the charity’s ‘walk-in wardrobe’, a hub where predominantly younger people and children can access free school uniforms, coats and shoes for free since 2019. The “most important aspect of the walk-in wardrobe is the sanitary product provision”, said Berni.

“It is our way of trying to combat some of the period poverty in the district. Unfortunately, these services are in great demand at the moment but our aspiration is that we get to a place where there is no more need and we can close them down.”

The food pantry is open every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9.30am to 1.30pm.

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