Community Centre Week: Recognising our local heroes
Photo credit: Jenny Jones-St Hilda's East Community Centre
St Hilda’s East has been a cornerstone of the neighbourhood for as long as anyone can remember. Most people are familiar with the building on the corner of Club Row and Old Nicol Street, whether or not they’ve accessed the centre’s many high quality social, healthy living, educational and recreational programmes.
What may not be as well-known though is the food co-op that operates weekly, providing fresh, healthy food sourced from Spitalfields Market and an organic family farm in Essex, at low prices for the whole community. Jemma Bicknell, Head of Programmes at St Hilda’s, is keen to spread the word.
Jemma wants everyone in the neighbourhood to have access to fresh food. She says: “Recently, in response to the increasing need being caused by the cost-of-living crisis, we've been looking to launch a community fridge where people can have access to free donated food. We’re also starting two new membership schemes. The first will help us sustain our social enterprise beyond our current funding. The second will offer further reductions for those who are struggling. We also refer to our local food bank when needed and run a daytime advice service so that people can get support in accessing benefits.
“The Food Co-op offers fresh fruit and vegetables at affordable prices to the local community, provides a lifeline for housebound older people using the centre, and is a place to shop, chat and meet.”
“We're currently developing a 'pay it forward' scheme for people who can afford to pay a little more to support us keeping the lower price for those who need it. When we consulted with local businesses, some told us that their staff felt too guilty shopping in our co-op because the cheap, high-quality food should go to those who need it. We came up with a solution which meant they could shop guilt-free; still getting a very cheap weekly shopping bill but supplementing it with a monthly membership fee. For us the more customers the better, we love being used by the whole community as it creates better social cohesion.”
But that’s not all. As well as access to inexpensive, healthy food, St Hilda’s want to provide opportunities. Jemma continues: “We act as a best practice model, running pop-up co-ops across the borough in partnership with other organisations, such as children’s centres located in places where there's little access to fresh, healthy, affordable food – known as 'food deserts'. We typically run three weekly pop-up sessions giving them the opportunity to pilot a scheme, train volunteers and use the evidence of need to apply for funding to run their own.
Drop by Thursdays between 11am and 2pm and check it out for yourself!