Social supermarket: the first UK chain opens a store in Liverpool

 

A social supermarket chain is opening a new store in Liverpool. This is not any regular grocery outlet. Instead it is a firm that aims to address the issue of food poverty in the country.

The first set of these types of institutions, Community Shop, opened this shop in Liverpool on Monday. It is its non-profit’s sixth store that offers products to local people on low income and on benefits. There are food and household items at 70% off usual retail prices there. It is able to do so by stocking up on surplus merchandise donated by supermarkets. These items are still in date and are of good quality but they are not being sold, for some reason whatsoever. The Community Shop also accepts donations of food that are not in saleable condition, such as they have been incorrectly labelled, however, the content is still in perfect condition.

This social supermarket scheme addresses two problems in the UK: food waste and poverty. Statistics reveal that 2 million people live in “severely food insecure” homes in the UK, while 1.9 million tonnes of food is wasted by the food industry each year. Moreover, the profit raised is used to fund a Community Hub inside the shop. 

Food poverty is a serious issue in the UK © Royalty-free image

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