‘They queued in street for free food’
Finds out how a social supermarket is helping people cope with the cost-of-living crisis
THE woman behind a social supermarket in Stoke-on-trent says families are so desperate for free food they are queueing down the street.
Nikki Barrett runs Affordable Food Stoke, where items that would have otherwise been thrown out are sold at bargain basement prices or given away. And since the cost of living crisis, demand has been higher than ever with cars lining Meaford Drive when the Blurton shop is open.
Nikki, aged 39, from Trent Vale, said: “Times are hard at the minute. I had 13 referrals for our foodbank. It’s more than doubled since times got tougher. People are really, really struggling, so we are doing all that we can to help. We had the police call the other week to see what was going on due to the amount of cars parked up.
“The biggest reason people come to us is because of gas and electricity prices. A lot of our families are really good with shopping and they look for bargains, but you cannot budget for your gas and electric. It’s extremely terrifying.”
Nikki’s membership scheme lets people pay £4 to buy 10 items. She had only wanted 25 to 30 members, but now has 70 – and has had to impose a cap, which means there is a long waiting list to join. The charity gives out free food between 10am and noon, Tuesday to Saturday.
Nikki said: “We literally give food away. We collect from the supermarkets every morning, and we give it away, just like that.
“That is for anybody; all we ask is that people bring a bag. If people or supermarkets give it to us for free, then we give it away for free.”
The project began in 2017 and has grown to have a schedule including a foodbank, exercise classes, community lounge, as well as the free food giveaway.
A cafe opened last Christmas, which is open from 10am to 2pm on Thursdays and Fridays and from 10am to noon on Saturdays.
Nikki said: “You can see from our menu, it’s cheap as chips. The food is good, you get a big salad with it. We use a lot of ingredients from our free section. The menu changes all the time as we use what we’ve got.”
Margaret Hambleton, aged 82, of Blurton, is among pensioners to benefit from Affordable Food’s work. She said: “It’s given me a new lease of life. I’m completely changed.
“I wasn’t having conversations with anybody before. I love the social aspect. You wouldn’t know me if you had spoken to me before. I’d lost the art of conversation. It’s a fantastic group. I’ve got a fantastic family, who do anything for me but they work a lot, they have to. This place has changed my life.”
Affordable Food has also set up a wellbeing class called Extra Time Club featuring different activities, board games, soccercise, and meditation on Mondays from 9.30am to 11.30am. On Tuesday and Wednesday they have a community lounge, between 10am and noon, with free tea and coffee, as people chat and make friends.
Nikki said: “Two of the ladies who met in the sessions went on holiday together recently. We also have a lot of mums who bring their little ones, their kids can run around and play with the toys and the mums can have an adult conversation.
“There’s also a Ukrainian woman who came here recently, she wants to better her English. She just comes to listen and joins in the conversation when she can.”