ALDI WIGAN - ASHTON-IN-MAKERFIELD

We are a community project in Wigan dedicated to reducing the amount of edible wasted food reaching landfill. We intercept surplus edible waste food and make it available to our community through our cafes and outlets. In addition we provide cooking classes and educational programs and work with schools and local organisations to educate people about food waste reduction. Although we often support people who need extra help, we are open to everyone. All support is beneficial, including financial help, as well as any food that we can use. 😄

Our community pantry helps local people access affordable food while reducing food waste by redistributing surplus food intercepted from a variety of sources. We are passionate about rescuing good food that would otherwise be discarded and ensuring it benefits people within our community instead. The pantry operates on a low-cost membership basis, with a £5 annual membership fee and £3 per shop (maximum of two shops per week). Members can choose from a wide range of food, helping families and individuals stretch their budgets while maintaining dignity and choice. As well as supporting people with food, we aim to create a welcoming and inclusive community space. Last year, we refurbished and extended our building to better serve local people and recently opened a weekly Pay-As-You-Feel Café. The café is already proving to be a popular and valued space where people can enjoy affordable meals, meet others, and access support in a warm and friendly environment. Everything we do is volunteer-led and rooted in community, sustainability, and supporting local people through challenging times.

We are based in Lock 20 Foyer in Wigan. Based on Boundary street, Wigan WN1 3BX. We have 38 self-contained flats housing young people who are at risk of or who have experienced homelessness and are estranged from family. The building is owned and run by Your Housing Group, but we are the charity arm of this, but commissioned by Wigan Council to deliver a supported housing service to 24 young people in need. We provide a safe, secure environment for young people to learn how to live independently and are staffed 24 hours a day. We provider person centred support to young people who may have experienced trauma and chaotic back grounds prior to being accommodated at Coops Foyer. We focus our support around trauma informed practice and ensure we utilise an advantage thinking methodology to encourage our young people to achieve goals and aspirations. We are accredited by the Foyer Federation and achieved the highest grades of Strong- Operationally and Strong- strategically. Our service users live on approx. £30 a week once they have paid for council tax/service charge. This is extremely difficult in the cost of living crisis and already on a tight budget. Here at Coops Foyer we provide a free breakfast club for our Young people Monday – Friday to ensure they don’t start the day hungry. We also out 2 cooking session on a week to take the sting out of the budget. We rely on donations and fundraising to sustain this. The donations we use for Young people who need emergency food/ help bulk up their cupboards and depending on what we get from the surplus food we sometime cook soups and put lunches on to ensure our young people are fed… as a lot of our young people can only afford basic food items… the fruit and veg that’s donated helps with at least 1 nutritious meal for them a week.