Social Supermarket

A social supermarket is a shop that provides food and essential goods to support people facing financial difficulties. You will pay a small weekly membership fee and in return you can choose from fresh, refrigerated, frozen and long-life foods.

They are places that help with high living-costs and where everyone is treated with compassion and respect.

Shopping at a social supermarket can reduce your food shopping bills to help free up money to cover other expenses or repay debt.

Social supermarkets are laid out like any other shop, where you can choose the food and household essentials you want for you and your family.

A food bank provides emergency food parcels to people in need.

In a social supermarket you pay a small membership fee each week, which then allows a member to choose food and essential products from the social supermarket shelves and receive additional wraparound services.

As well as getting help with food supplies, staff are on hand to identify further help and support on other issues that can ultimately help people transition out of poverty. This can include

• debt and money management
• education and training
• volunteering opportunities
• benefits advice
• healthy eating
• housing support
• employability support
• improving physical and mental wellbeing
• clothing support and help with school uniforms

Social supermarket users can be self-referred, you can arrive at your local store on their designated opening times or make contact prior to your visit. Other methods of referral are welcome through any statutory, voluntary and community sector organisations.

Our social supermarkets and wraparound services are run by local charitable organisations under the Council’s Cost-of-Living Support Plan. The local social supermarket charities receive donations from the public, Department for Communities grant funding for food purchases and Fareshare. They reinvest membership fees and execute their own fundraising strategies. Our generous local businesses also donate to the ABC Community Food Hub.

The ABC Community Food Hub provides help to those in food insecurity living across the ABC Borough with support from Armagh Banbridge and Craigavon Council. The ABC Community Food Hub model was co-designed to provide a centralised location for food donations and distributes food to Food Banks and Social Supermarkets within the ABC area.

Surplus food is supplied from Fareshare, engagement with local food producers and other businesses within the Council’s area.  The Food Hub works with key trusted partners and advisors in the community sector such as the established Food Banks and Social Supermarkets.

Contact your nearest social supermarket from the list below and have a chat with a member of their team.