Community Pop Up Shops - Stoke Park

 A few months ago I wrote a piece on the Ipswich Conservative website and I have updated it below to incorporate my visit to the pop up community shop expansion into my ward Stoke Park at St Peters Church a couple of weeks ago.

I had the pleasure of being invited to The Community Pop Up Shop founded by Graham Denny of the Basic Life Charity at All Hallows Church in Landseer Road, Ipswich.
This is open every Tuesday at 11am.
The idea behind it is to collect donations from several supermarkets for anyone who is happy to donate £2 for a bag which they then use to fill from the array of foods available.
No means test, no referrals, just anyone who wishes to buy. I loved this idea.

It was very evident from the moment I arrived at 10.30am when I saw a queue already forming, that this was also a community activity, bringing people together at the same time to chat while they waited to go in. I decided to talk to them to find out what it meant to them.
The first woman I spoke to simply answered ‘It means I get to eat, not just my children who always get fed but it means I get fed properly too.’ It was a powerful and stark statement.

Other reasons are varied including anxiety going into a supermarket, feeling they have dignity and are giving something back by donating themselves as well as paying £2 and, of course, feeling connected.

I met Rev. Kieran who is very supportive of this community pop up shop and as he played some church music I took a moment to look around the church. As I paused near the alter the people who had been waiting came in quietly and in an orderly manner, ensuring social distancing. I have to say it was rather emotional and I had a bit of a moment. Everyone was considerate of those further down the line and took only what they needed from each area like milk, tea, coffee, soup, pasta sauce, fresh fruit and vegetables.

Graham has extended this across Ipswich and so below I update this post.

St Peters Church in Stoke Park has the same business model and is on Wednesdays from 1.30pm. People queue well before that and have a chat together. One of the residents below told me this is one of the main reasons that he comes along - to break up his week where he looks after his mother and has little time for socialising. It humbly reminds me that we are not all fortunate enough to have freedom to leave our homes whenever we want.

One of my neighbours John in the second picture below and who lives nearby has started volunteering to source the food, ensuring there is enough and to sort logistics - and by all accounts is doing a good job.

I enjoyed talking to the residents that came in, some were from another part of Ipswich so it begs the question of whether they do the rounds of all of the venues, but that's not a huge concern with the model of not needing to be referred far outweighing any cheeky families. The team do make it clear that its one bag per family.

The church is so supportive of the locals and have regular events for mental health and community well being as well as prayer and support.

I continue to believe this is a much better solution than foodbanks and much lovelier and more welcoming venues.