Lidl Prestatyn

Abergele Community Shop has been developed by Abergele Community Action (registered charity number 1125169) with funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Aimed at helping people who are struggling with the increased cost of living or with a much lower level of disposable income, the Community Shop, which is based on Platform 1 (beach side) of Pensarn Station, will be a social supermarket with a difference. The Community Shop will redistribute food, consisting of high-quality products that have been supplied by FareShare. FareShare is the UK’s national network of charitable food re-distributors, made up of 18 independent organisations, taking good quality surplus food from right across the food industry and supplying frontline charities and community groups.

In response to the current cost of living crisis and in view of the isolation and loneliness many people face particularly during the winter, the volunteer team were inspired to offer a free, warm, safe space along with light lunches and drinks free to all. How this all came about, an existing team of dedicated volunteers have for several years provided a monthly coffee morning and in the winter months soup and cake in the Church Institute to the community of HENLLAN. The aim was for the community to come together and socialise. The volunteers felt they needed to further develop this idea due to the lack of registered warm Space in the surrounding Area. This would give a chance for people to come together to chat, socialise, play games and bring their laptop to work and the free WI-FI, it would offer a warm space where you can enjoy freshly prepared soup, light meals and an endless supply of hot drinks in a friendly atmosphere and all for free. The take up of this provision has exceeded our expectations with a 112 meal provided in the first month of January. It has been heart-warming for the team to take a moment during the busy day to listen to the chatter, to watch as people move around to catch up with friends and neighbours, to see games of dominoes being played and to hear the positive feedback. tithe provision is registered as a Warm Space for all on the local authority warm welcome website and is advertised well on social media. We hope through the Neighbourly Initiative to be able to prepare most of these meals certainly the soups from surplus fresh food available from local supermarkets. We have had financial support from an ancient parochial charity to pay for the heating, and from the Round Table and Community Council to cover other overheads for the institute. We plan to offer this warm Space for the foreseeable future.

To achieve a support system working with local agencies to help through an connected approach to alleviate food poverty, period poverty, as well as nappies loo rolls and general sanitary products We work with volunteers who give 6 to 10 hours a week to help run the bank. During Covid we are running with a delivery model with volunteers delivering food parcels directly to clients doorsteps Whilst the foodbank is closed to the public