Storehouse – community food in Shirebrook

From time to time, the STC discusses an application for funding from various organisations. It’s called “Application for financial assistance”, and usually, it is directed toward charity organisations acting on behalf of residents of Shirebrook. At the June meeting of the Town Council, an application submitted by “The Brook Community Church and Centre” was discussed. I thought that it would be worth introducing the readers both to a procedure and the mentioned charity.

APPLICATION

STC discussed the application for a while, but after discussion Council voted to ask for additional information before deciding. The main reason for this was that there was no clear indication on the document that the money would be used by the charity to help the people of Shirebrook only. So, if you are running a charity and planning to apply for financial aid from STC, you must remember – if you want to go through the process efficiently, you must show that you will be using the money for the benefit of Shirebrook residents only. The project must be dedicated to Shirebrook residents, and you must clearly state this in your application.

STOREHOUSE

When I read a short description of details of the proposed use of the grant, I was impressed: in the pandemic, Storehouse operated as a food bank and distributed over 7000(!) bags of food in Shirebrook. Since demand is not going away, the charity decided to adjust its operational model slightly and continue its work. What was most impressive for me was that Storehouse does not operate as a food bank anymore. Now it’s a community shop with a very unusual business model. This business model is so uncommon that I decided to go to the source and ask about it directly. I contacted the person named on the application form, and a couple of days later, we met to talk.

MEMBERSHIP/PARTNERSHIP SHOP

I met with David Spencer in Coffee Brook, part of The Brook Community Church & Centre on Main Street.

Sylwester Zwierzynski: Thank you for meeting me. Could you tell my readers what your charity does?

David Spencer: We ran a food bank here (The Brook Community Church and Centre on Main Street) for many years, and we were looking at how we can make it more sustainable. Then Covid comes, so we had to react. We closed church, and we changed it into a distribution centre. We provided more than 7000 food bags between March 2020 and March 2021. We were researching a more sustainable model for Shirebrook for years, and we decided this is the right time to open a shop.

SZ: Can you tell me more about this new model?

DS: So, there are two groups: people in need who can become members and people who want to support who can become partners. If you are in need, for example, you have health problems, you lost your job or place to live, or struggling to make ends meet, you become a member. Membership is very cost-effective- you donate £5 to become a member, you get a membership card and shopping bag, your membership lasts for six months, then you can renew your membership or maybe, become a partner. Once you are a member which only takes a few minutes, you can fill your shopping bag with food for just £5 per shopping session up to once a week. You can continue shopping as long as you need, but if you come to the point that you don’t need that support, you can become a partner. Partner pays £10 minimum donation, and then they still can shop once a week for an additional £10 per session. It’s worth noting that most bags are valued at way more than £10. In addition, partners can do other things to help those in need and both members and partners can decide to pay a little more if they wish, this is called “Pay it Forwards” and any donations from pay it forwards goes into the Crisis fund.

SZ: What happens if partners do not use their shopping sessions?

DS: Their donations are used for those in need or put aside in crisis fund.

SZ: What is crisis fund?

DS: Let us say something terrible happened in your life, and you do not have money to pay for the membership or food. The Crisis fund is used to pay for memberships for people in such a dire situation that they cannot cover the cost of membership and, or the shopping session at this very moment. It could be loss of a job, some problems with benefits issues, sudden loss of health etc. The fund is created from “Pay it Forward” donations, sponsorships etc. and their membership and food shopping are paid for by that fund. We call it “Supported Membership” just the same as any other membership, but it has been sponsored by someone else, perhaps they were once in need and wanted to “Pay it Forward”

SZ: Do you provide any other help?

DS: We have project workers who can help or refer you to the appropriate agency. We also work closely with CAB. Their worker is here Wednesdays and Fridays. All of that aims to help people get back on their feet, and if they do, they will not rely on membership and can become partners and that’s part of what will ensure the Storehouse is here for a long time. Storehouse started March this year and we are trying to develop a sustainable model so it can help those in need but at the same time is less reliant on funding. As we grow the project, we hope it can stand on its own two feet. We are working with some people from Derbyshire County Council etc, and if our operation becomes sustainable here, we might develop a similar operation in other locations in Derbyshire, maybe a franchise model. We have invited MP Mark Fletcher to show him how it is working too.

SZ: So, if someone wants to help others, all he or she has to do is pay £10 per month for membership…

DS: £10 per half-year. Membership/partnership last six months and enable you to do up to one shopping session per week for £5/£10 per session, and we want people to use this service.

SZ: But if someone wants, can he pay £10 partnership per 6 months or even per month and don’t use shopping sessions?

DS: Of course. Your partnership donations will cover the crisis fund or sponsor someone’s membership fee.

SZ: All that remains to be asked is: how to join?

DS: Just come to our place at Coffee Brook, Main Street. Complete the membership / partnership form, and we will sort it out right here.

SZ: Thank you for the interview.

Many people like to shop at charity shops. The offer of such shops is always quite unique and usually of normal quality. By shopping there, we simultaneously help organisations that are professionally involved in helping others. Nevertheless, the idea of a food shop based on this formula is unusual. I hope that some Shirebrook residents will come to the Storehouse and become partners in this interesting initiative.

Sylwester Zwierzynski info@shirebrook247.com