Sainsbury's Bishopthorpe Road Local

The Collective Sharehouse (TCS) provides a 'give and take as you feel' food, personal and household cleaning products service with dignity for families in need in our community. We complement the work of other similar organisations in the city but in an area which has been overlooked in the past. We define dignity as offering all of our visitors and families the same choice as those fortunate enough to be in regular, well paid work. This includes a consistent, broad and balanced selection of non-perishable food stuffs, personal care and household goods, complimented by robust fruit and vegetables, and fresh bread when available. The opportunity to always be able to select from, and contribute to, that wide range of goods defines our ethos: ‘give and take as you feel’. We have had a fabulous response from our local community - communicated by word of mouth and a thoughtful approach to use of social media and a wide network of community & health professionals -and we are always developing ways in which to sustain that giving. We are currently sharing goods at an average of 80 occasions each week. We are therefore providing vital resources for local vulnerable families in addition to signposting expert information/advice which we hope will help them back to independence. Donations are inevitably unpredictable, however, in timing, volume and nature. Further funding will allow us to supplement these fantastic donations in order to sustain the dignity, breadth and choice our community families need and deserve, for as long as there is a clear need in our community. As an organisation we intend to support, through monitoring need and reflecting with our community, progress toward the development of an integrated approach to food poverty in our city working with other voluntary organisations.