New store in Knottingley to sell heavily discounted surplus food and products to those on benefits

A social enterprise supermarket that sells surplus food and products for the good of the community is set to open a branch in Knottingley later this month.
The new Community Store at KnottingleyThe new Community Store at Knottingley
The new Community Store at Knottingley

Community Shop at Hill Top on Pontefract Road will be open to people who live locally and receive welfare support. The venture is supported by long-standing partner, The Coalfields Regeneration Trust which owns the building and is providing it rent-free.

Everything on sale will be discounted by as much as 50 per cent, most of which will be donated by major retailers and manufacturers.

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This will be the eighth Community Shop in the network and the first to open in West Yorkshire. The only other one in Yorkshire is at Tankersley, South Yorkshire. When the store opens on December 15 it will serve around 750 members and create eight new jobs.

Everything at the Community Store will be heavily discountedEverything at the Community Store will be heavily discounted
Everything at the Community Store will be heavily discounted

Community Shop Knottingley is also supported by Wakefield Council, WDH, Coca Cola European Partners, Ocado and Bakkavor which have provided funding to help kick-start the new store. Once opened, it will be self-sustaining.

Coun Maureen Cummings, Wakefield Council’s cabinet member for communities, poverty and health, said: “It is really important to us to help and support our most vulnerable residents and that’s why we are really pleased to financially support Community Shop Knottingley, to help make it a reality and impact positively on our residents.

“The work Community Shop does is fantastic, and I know it will make a really big difference to people living in the area.”

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All items on sale at Community Shop are perfectly good to eat or use but have become “surplus” for several reasons including incorrect or wonky labelling, seasonal packaging or overstock.

Discounted meals will be available at the Community kitchen within the store.Discounted meals will be available at the Community kitchen within the store.
Discounted meals will be available at the Community kitchen within the store.

The revenue raised from the in-store sales will be invested into the Community Hub, where members can gain access to personal development support, with sessions including everything from cook clubs and home budgeting, to interview skills and business courses.

The store will also house a Community Kitchen, offering cut-price wholesome hot meals to members and their families.

The team will work closely with other community groups in the area, as well as with the council, as it seeks to complement the work already being delivered in the region and to generate further positive social and economic impact.

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Natalie Brown, head of Community Shop said: “We are so pleased to be opening Community Shop Knottingley, and particularly to be expanding our offer in Yorkshire.

"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 Coalfield 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 interested in learning more about how to help make a positive social impact locally to get in touch.”

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Gary Ellis, chief executive of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust said: “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 the greatest change.”

To learn more about Community Shop, and apply for membership, visit: https://www.companyshopgroup.co.uk/community-shop-our-social-enterprise

Facts about Company Shop Group

Company Shop Group is the UK’s leading redistributor of surplus food and household products.

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It has two divisions - Company Shop, its retail operation, and award-winning social enterprise, Community Shop.

Company Shop is a network of 14 member-only supermarkets across England and Scotland. Members enjoy high-quality food and household products at deeply discounted prices and help stop perfectly good surplus products from going to waste.

In 2020 alone, Company Shop Group:

Handled more than 80 million units of surplus food and household products. This includes 5.7m non-food items.

Saved 28,073 tonnes of surplus from going to waste.

Paid £20.5m back to the industry in return for its surplus, taking the total to £139m in the past 10 years.

Saved members across the group a collective £64 million on their shopping