Sainsbury's Archway Station Local

We are a voluntary group who help other charities and organisations with food aid and cooked meals. We also supply food parcels to those in need. We help with homelessness and low income families as well as people with disabilities and mental health needs.

We are part of Cooperation Town, a non profit network of community led food co-ops. The co-op grew from, and built on, the support which was fostered by Junction Mutual Aid which supported local people through the pandemic. The food co-op is a small buying group, which provides our members with affordable food (and a small number of other household products) which are bought in bulk and re-distributed at a very low price as part of the membership fee It is based in the Community Centre on a large housing estate in North Islington; it is open twice a week (Wednesdays 11.00 - 1.30 and Thursdays 10.00 - 11.00) to coincide with other community activities which are taking place at the same time, and attract more members. However, the membership is open to anybody who lives locally. People learn about the co-op through local leafletting, posters, networks and word of mouth. The co-op is owned by its members, who decide together what to buy and how to run the co-op. Membership is not means-tested in order to give the members a sense of dignity by not seeing this as handouts; our ethos is to avoid food waste and to share with others. There are currently 72 members in the co-op, who contribute £3 on each weekly visit (but only if they visit). For this amount, the members can choose food and household goods from the available stock. Some items are limited in order to share equally, but the co-op remains committed to allowing members to pick their own items to match their dietary choices and needs. Between 20 and 30 members use the co-op each week. In addition to the stock of dried goods and household products, plus fresh fruit and vegetables which we buy from the Cooperation Town Food Hub, we have established regular partnerships with some local shops and supermarkets which donate surplus fresh food and other goods each week. We arrange for these goods to be collected safely and taken to the community centre. We also benefit from weekly deliveries from the Felix Project, which has supported our co-op since its start in November 2021. We have a food store, with fridges and freezers, for our sole use, and recently we have established arrangements to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and fish from local traders which has extended our food offer. Apart from the obvious benefits of giving people access to good food for a very small cost, and avoiding food waste, there have been many examples of the food co-op developing community support and creating friendships. Members swap recipes and food knowledge, as well as trying new foods. Members keep an eye on others who may need extra help; people who have not attended for a while are contacted. Some deliveries are made to the housebound, and people offer to carry heavy bags for those who are less able. Our next project is to raise funds to buy a cargo ebike so that we can safely and sustainably collect and deliver food in our busy urban area, and to increase the amount of food which we can collect.

A warm space where people come and enjoy tea/coffee and cake, activities, including seated exercises, and a delicious lunch made from surplus food.