Lidl Thirsk

We are a charity run preschool setting that facilitates learning opportunities for preschool age children. The children who attend our setting are aged between 2 and 4. We have 16 children on our roll, with 8 children due to move up to the local school at the end of the academic year. The building has been provided to the preschool with the view of continuing to provide early provision to the local rural community that is a major part of the village. The preschool relies heavily on donations and fundraising activities. The committee of trustees is made up of volunteers (who are all parents of the preschool and school). The future of our setting is reliant on the local community for their support and generosity. The preschool is set in a rural location and has provided early years facilities to the local community for over 35 years with many of the previous children now bringing their own children here. The children are keen to learn and explore outside the classroom with links to the local community. The children attend local coffee mornings held at the church opposite to build our strong community links. We hope one day to be able to upgrade our kitchen facilities to enable the children to make items for the coffee mornings. This will help in their learning and also their sense of belonging within the community. We believe in instilling a sense of pride within the children for their achievements. We provide displays of artwork for the church and the children love seeing their pieces. We encourage our children to have a healthy attitude to food. A range of fruit and vegetables is supplied by staff for healthy snacks. As a setting we think developing a fondness and fascination for the outdoors is integral to the children’s understanding of their local community and the natural world. We are hoping to be able to become part of your neighbourly scheme to enable us to provide a wider selection of options to our children. We would also like for any surplus to go towards helping families such as single parents and those with vulnerable children. Our children thrive in our setting and some attend our breakfast club setting as well as after school provision. The preschool is a vital feeder into the village primary school that has less than 50 children and we share strong links with them. It would be wonderful to be able to provide more options at a more cost effective way to the children and families in a way to support not only our setting but also the school and wider community.

Opened in December 2023, our Social Supermarket “Pantry and Produce”, located within our High Street hub "UpFront", has quickly established itself as a much-needed service in our community. It differs from a foodbank in that it is neither means-tested nor dependent on referral, is truly non-discriminatory and therefore open to all. Many of those struggling to cope with the rise in the cost of living need to make their money go further but are ineligible or reluctant to use a foodbank. The social supermarket model works on a membership basis and offers an opportunity to choose the contents of your shopping basket for yourself. £3 buys 8 items and £5 buys 15 items. You may shop twice per week. The income from the pantry is used to purchase further stock with a small contribution towards overheads. In addition we run recipe swaps and demonstrations with tastings to help people learn to cook from scratch and redistribute goods for free that are close to their best- before- dates. When local retailers donate on an ad hoc basis, we offer their provisions free of charge from the reception area in "UpFront". Anybody walking into our premises may help themselves. Our aim is to reduce food waste and improve access to food alongside wrap around support. This is one of a range of practical interventions including one-to-one and group social activities, transport provision and supported volunteering. This social supermarket model allows individuals to make their own choices and pay towards their purchases. It recognises the need for self-respect and freedom of choice and complements the foodbank model.

Our vision is that local communities in and around Thirsk will become stronger and more resilient and people living in those communities feel that they belong, are connected and live independent, active and fulfilled lives. Here are just some of the things we do: - We work with people whose mental health can be poor - Our Food Bank helps to feed hungry individuals and families - Our key worker team work with people and help them through more challenging times - Our shop helps save the planet and provides amazing furniture at very low prices - Our projects work with older people, vulnerable women, men, those living with dementia and others - We run a Community Car Scheme to help those without transport get to important appointments and events - We run a Meals on Wheels Service - We run a Community Furniture Re-Use Store