"An unprecedented time": Social supermarket in Holbeck forced to expand due to phenomenal demand - with families on 'waiting list' to get food

Holbeck Together saw first-hand the difficult choices families and older people were having to make over the festive period.

Speaking to the YEP, Chief Officer Elissa Newman said some of the parents which are supported by the charity were only able to give their children presents at Christmas if they "cut down on food that week".

During Covid, the charity launched their 'community supermarket' at St Matthews Community Centre in Holbeck - an area Elissa described as among the one per cent most deprived in the country.

Now, more than 50 volunteers help support the charity to enable the supermarket to open for at least 70 families who turn up each and every week on a Thursday.

The families can pay £2.50 to get a cooler bag full of 15 food items.

The social supermarket even has baskets for families to use and fridges to store the items.

They work with organisations including Fairtrade and Rethink to source the food available.

However, the supermarket is also now offering toiletries and other goods in order to help families in need - with prices rocketing in conventional retailers for similar items.

The fear of an upcoming hike in bills has left many of the families making very difficult choices to support their families, Elissa told the YEP.

Holbeck Together have now been awarded £9,969 to extend their support for families and older people in Holbeck.

The funding comes from a Widening Partnership Grant from Leeds City Council who have recognized the ongoing impact of the Pandemic on some of Leeds most vulnerable communities.

There is currently a waiting list of families hoping to use Holbeck Together's services and the social supermarket will now open its doors for two additional days to meet demand thanks to the funding, Elissa said.

She described the social supermarket - originally opened without any funding - as a "critical response in an unprecedented time".

"We have 70 families queueing outside each week", Elissa said.

"They know we are there for them.

"It started with us getting food parcels from the council to give out to people, but the council can't do it forever.

"We thought what can we do to make it work.

"It is important that people have that integrity that when they are getting food they are buying it.

"They are not the recipient of a food parcel but are empowered to come shopping.

"It was during giving out the food parcels during Covid that we came up with this initiative.

"We even have the supermarket baskets and the fridges we have had donated, it is a really professional experience."

The festive period was especially difficult for families in Holbeck, Elissa said.

"At Christmas we did have families where they chose to buy their kids a gift but they had to cut down on food that week.

"They wanted to have a little Christmas, but which was it?

"For people that can afford to budget, it is going to be difficult with the fuel increase.

"For people struggling to make ends meet on a weekly basis, this could tip you over the scale of whether to put the heating on or not.

"It is a concern."

More than three in five over-65s are worried about heating their home, according to Age UK.

The proportion of those who said in January that they are concerned about the cost of heating their home has increased from 43 per cent who expressed such fears when a survey was carried out in December.

Nearly half of over-65s are worried about having to reduce energy use due to financial concerns, up from 30 per cent in December.

For those families in Holbeck using the social supermarket, the price hikes could mean the difference between being able to put food on their table or heating their homes, Elissa said.

She added: "The whole nation is worried aren't they.

"In an area such as Holbeck you worry more.

"It is a disproportionate worry here."

Elissa revealed that Holbeck Together has a waiting list of families hoping to be able to access their services at the social supermarket.

However, volunteers and staff are "at full capacity", she added.

Using funding from the grant, the social supermarket is now expected to open for three days a week rather than the current single day.

"We have to mobilise our end for more volunteers and staff to be able to do it", Elissa said.

"There is a greater need for our service and there will be in the coming months.

"I envisage when we open another day it will very quickly get to full capacity."

Elissa said the service "couldn't manage" without the 50 volunteers who support Holbeck Together to operate.

"It also provides volunteers skills", she added.

"It is something they will get a lot out of.

"We have over 50 volunteers.

"Some days we get 500 oranges in or raspberries or potatoes.

"We bag them out individually.

"When someone comes in, they all have a fair share of the produce.

"This is a sustainable future model which can come out of the pandemic.

"Thankfully this funding from Leeds City Council provides a stop-gap level of support for the next 12 weeks.

"It will allow us to support people in the community on low incomes or who are struggling financially and endeavour to make sure the most vulnerable people of Holbeck don’t have to choose between food and fuel in the first couple of months of 2022.”

Hilary Benn is the Labour MP for Leeds Central.

Mr Benn said the charity "has done a wonderful job, including during the pandemic, in providing much-needed help, support and meals to the local community it serves".

He added: "Life is about to get even tougher for many people with rising prices and soaring energy bills, so this funding is a welcome, if temporary, lifeline for some of the really important work that Holbeck Together does.

"But what we urgently need is a plan to help everyone affected.

"No one should have to choose between heating or eating.

"The Government should scrap VAT on energy bills this year which would save households £200 off their bills, and provide up to £600 for those most in need by boosting the Warm Homes Discounts, as Labour has proposed. “

In a statement released to the Yorkshire Evening Post, a Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “Leeds City Council is proud to provide this funding which will help Holbeck Together continue their fantastic work and support even more people in 2022.

"It is vital that people on low incomes can access essential food supplies, and this is one way to help families and older people through tough times.

"The council is fully committed to working with partners across the city and ensuring the most vulnerable communities can access the support they need.”

Holbeck Together was established as a Neighbourhood Network Scheme in 1992 to support older people living in Holbeck.

Drawing on these experiences and expertise, Holbeck Together now welcomes people from all generations.

They want to make Holbeck "one of the best places to live, work and play".

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