A new social supermarket has opened at the Riverside Family Hub in North Shields, offering affordable food to help local residents with rising costs.
The ‘Riverside Pantry’, run by care-experienced people, provides an opportunity for the young people to give back to their community while developing valuable skills and experience.
Open to everyone every Thursday from 11am to 2pm, the pantry offers a bundle of a variety of store, frozen and fresh goods for just £10.
To support their skills development, the volunteers participate in cooking sessions before the pantry opens, creating tasty dishes for shoppers to sample with a cup of tea or coffee.
Rachel Fairless, a care-experienced 25-year-old who volunteers at the pantry said: “I started cooking at the pantry at the beginning of this year after I was referred by the Carer Leavers team. The pantry has not only given me really useful skills and experience, but it keeps me busy doing something that feels good.”
“I’ve picked up so many skills for my CV, from cooking to budgeting to communicating with people. I’ve learned to make meals from scratch and now, I cook for my dad and partner at home. I’ve made curries, pies, my own pizza dough.”
“Receiving Universal Credit payments, the pantry also helps me access affordable and good food.”
“It makes me really proud when people like my cooking – they’re always coming back for more! Thanks to the pantry, I’ve realised I absolutely love cooking and want to do it as a career. I’m going to try and get my Level 2 certificate after I finish here.”
Visitors who enjoy the meals on offer can pick up free recipe cards and purchase the ingredients to recreate the nutritious meals at home.
Carly Dale, Advanced Leaving Care Practitioner at North Tyneside Council, who helps the pantry operate said: “The pantry has become a real hub for the community. We welcome everyone each Thursday and although we’ve seen popularity grow significantly, we are eager to spread the word further about this fantastic service.”
“It is bringing affordable grocery shopping straight to the heart of the community and not only this, but it’s a safe, warm and welcoming space for people to connect with each other, share a meal, and feel part of something. We’ve worked hard to create a comfortable environment with a community spirit.”
The pantry is a joint project between Future Foundations, HIVE (the Health Information and Advice Virtual School), a specialist teaching and youth service and the nursery based at the hub.
It forms part of our wider commitment to expanding the Borough’s skills and work experience provision alongside increasing opportunities for children and young people, so they have the best start in life.
Elected Mayor of North Tyneside Council, Karen Clark, said, “The Riverside Pantry is such an amazing example of what we’re trying to achieve in North Tyneside. Not only does it support our residents to access more affordable food, it provides a space for our care-experienced people to build skills for life. The community spirit is palpable and it’s evident that it’s bringing people together in a really positive way.”
The hub is starting to run workshops and activities for families, including arts and crafts sessions and is hoping to expand this offer over summer. Last month, visitors were given a spider plant to take home, along with instructions on how to care for it.
The Riverside Hub is a community centre offering free activities and support for local families, helping them build skills for school, work and everyday life.