Photo taken by mermaid99
I first heard about the People's Supermarket in the Observer's Food Monthly, and when the Channel 4 showed the first of their new series on the shop (see here if you've not seen it) I was glued to my TV!
This not-for-profit supermarket was founded by TV chef and restaurateur Arthur Potts-Dawson, and Kate Bull, a former retail consultant and David Barrie, a TV Producer and director. It's a genuine co-operative, with a vast army of members who pay £25 and promise to work 4 hours a month. The first of the series started with a derelict shop and a struggle to get support and finance to fill the shelves:
Photo taken by mermaid99
However it very quickly became apparent how this idea was going to work. Like myself, Arthur Potts-Dawson is appalled by some of the wastage in the food industry. The People's Supermarket buys small loads direct from small growers, which the big supermarkets may no be interested in.
Photo taken by mermaid99
There's a mixture of top quality produce, like these chanterelles:
Photo taken by mermaid99
and store room staples. There's some home made produce like this Apple and Mint Chutney:
Photo taken by mermaid99
Some of the carrots may be a bit too knobbly for the supermarkets, but they still taste great and are cheaper. Best of all, what can't be sold may be used in the café, and turned into some thing delicious:
Photo taken by mermaid99
or at least composted for next year's crops. My thanks to mermaid99 for the excellent pictures in this post. There's lots more on Flickr here, if you can't get into the shop yourself.
With prices below the supermarkets, and members getting an additional 10% discount, many of us are wondering when there'll be more branches?
The People's Supermarket
72 - 78 Lamb’s Conduit Street
Holborn
London
WC1N 3LP
Tel: 020 7430 1827
Web: www.thepeoplessupermarket.org
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