Community Shop, an award-winning social enterprise and the UK’s first social supermarket chain, has opened its new store at 211 Walton Road in Liverpool 4 – providing the local community with access to high-quality, low-cost food and household products.

The store was opened by Community Shop’s Founder and Chairman, John Marren, alongside representatives from Liverpool City Council and the office of MP Dan Carden, long-standing partner Onward Homes, Everton in the Community and Riverside who provided generous investment to get the store up and running alongside Ocado, Nestle and Company Shop Group.

Membership of the new Community Shop is now open to people who live locally, receive welfare support, and are motivated to make a positive change to their lives. This includes customers of social housing provider Onward Homes, which has given Community Shop the use of its former office for the new store. There has already been a positive response from the local community, with lots of families already benefiting from the provision on offer. Community Shop is now encouraging more people to come along to sign up to the offers.

Membership of the new Community Shop is now open to people who live locally, receive welfare support, and are motivated to make a positive change to their lives. This includes customers of social housing provider Onward Homes, which has given Community Shop the use of its former office for the new store. There has already been a positive response from the local community, with lots of families already benefiting from the provision on offer. Community Shop is now encouraging more people to come along to sign up to the offers.

The revenue raised from the in-store sales is invested in the Community Hub, where members can gain access to personal development support, with sessions including everything from cook clubs and home budgeting, to interview skills and business courses. The store also houses a Community Kitchen, which offers wholesome hot meals to members and their families.

Working in partnership with Liverpool City Council, local charities and organisations including Onward Homes and Everton in the Community, Community Shop L4 seeks to complement the work already being delivered in the area, by generating further positive social and economic impact for those most in need. It has also generated 10 new local jobs, with vacancies now filled in retail, hospitality and development roles.

Steph McGinty, Retail, People and Communities Director, Company Shop said:

“We are thrilled to bring our social enterprise to the heart of Liverpool, where we are working closely with the various organisations, charities and community members to help make a real difference to the lives of individuals and families across the region."

“We are very grateful for the support we have received from Liverpool City Council, Dan Carden MP, Onward Homes, Ocado, Nestle, Riverside and Everton in the Community, who have welcomed us with such open arms and enabled us embark on our ambitious plans to deliver further positive social, economic and environmental impact across Liverpool. It has been great to welcome new members to the store and we’re looking forward to supporting many more individuals and families to benefit from our offers”.

Bronwen Rapley, Chief Executive of Onward Homes said:

“We are delighted to build on our partnership with Community Shop and to support their work across the city region. Onward has been a part of the community in this part of North Liverpool for many years. Placing this building in the hands of Community Shop demonstrates our commitment to the area and supports our mission ‘to create a positive difference in the communities we serve’.”

Jo West, Head of Sustainability for Ocado Retail said:

“Community Shop makes an incredible difference in the local communities they operate in. We couldn’t be prouder to donate to help them bring food to people in great need and provide support to the local communities during this very difficult time, and to have helped boost the pace of the store opening in Walton Road so even more people can benefit from their provision.”