Britain’s ‘cheapest’ supermarket is coming to Barnsley.

Community Shop promises prices up to 70% cheaper than the average supermarket, but this is not some kind of mega-discounter – it’s a social enterprise intended to put surplus stock in the hands of the most needy.

The 1,800 sq ft store is spun out of Company Shop, which sells on residual goods – for example, products with damaged packaging, incorrect labels or surplus items caused by inaccurate forecasting – to membership-only staff shops. In the process, it stops food and usable products from ending up in landfill or anaerobic digestion.

Company Shop won a Grocer Gold Award this year for its work – but it wants to do more. Its staff shops are usually based at factories or edge-of-town sites; the Barnsley shop brings the concept into the community for the first time.

“Community Shops will follow the same business model as Company Shop stores, but they will also have an additional goal. They will not only provide those in need with access to low-cost food, but will also help them address the issues that are pushing them towards food poverty,” Company Shop says.

To this end, shoppers – or members, as this supermarket is invite-only – will be eligible for support in areas such as CV writing, budgeting, debt advice and even cooking. “The aim is not to become dependent on the store,” a spokesman explains.

The Barnsley shop is based in Goldthorpe, an “area of social deprivation according to government indices”, and the trial will involve 500 members initially. These have been selected based on their eligibility for certain benefits, including Job Seeker’s Allowance and Income Support.

As for what members can buy in the Community Shop, the specifics have yet to be worked out, although it will include ambient, frozen and fresh food, all in-date (it won’t stock booze). Company Shop has contracts in place with all of the major retailers and it is expected these will be extended to include the Barnsley store.

Availability, however, will be one crucial area of difference to an ordinary supermarket: “Choice will change on a daily basis because it’s based on surpluses. For example, there will be cheese every day, but the type of cheese available may change,” the spokesman said.

The shop, based in a former furniture store, opens on 9 December, and plans to open a further six in London are well advanced. Company Shop is targeting a total of 20 nationwide by the end of 2014.

The Community Shop idea may be fairly new to these shores, but as we reported last month, Greece has already experimented with changes to the rules governing surplus food and how and where it can be sold at a discount.

Initiatives like these prove that retailers and campaigners can work together effectively on food waste – and help the community in the process. The Barnsley model may be one to watch.

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