It will expand after a hugely successful trial
Lincoln’s bargain community grocery store could welcome more than 100 people everyday as it moves to its new home.
The charity will be breathing life back into the historic Beaumont Manor thanks to Towns Deal funding.
The community grocery offers affordable surplus food from supermarkets, with shoppers able to get more than £20 of goods for just £4 per shop.
The trial run in the Methodist Church on Lincoln High Street far exceeded expectations, with hundreds of people visiting every week.
The project is a collaboration between Alive Church Lincoln, the Acts Trust and the Message Trust.
Thanks to £226,000 of government funding from the Lincoln Town Deal, a disused building has been renovated.
Beaumont Manor, which has stood empty for six years on Beaumont Fee, is expected to welcome dozens of people a day.
Lincoln Community Grocery aimed to tackle food poverty with affordable food | Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
Simon Hawkins, the Chief Executive of the Acts Trust, shared the grocery’s success with the Town Deal Board.
“We are hoping this will be really transformational project for the city,” he said.
“We expected to get 250 members during the pilot, and instead we have got 1500.
“On a typical day we see 60 to 80 people, but we could manage double that at the new building.
“It’s exciting to have a permanent home in Beaumont Manor. This is a heritage building, which hasn’t been used for six years. Significant renovations have been made to bring it back to life.
Shoppers can walk away with huge savings | Photo: The Message Trust
“There will be community spaces where we could offer job or skills courses, mental health recovery sessions.
“This will be an amazing resource for the residents of the city.”
55 volunteers who are already involved will help to run the expanded project when it launches in February.
Members of the Town Deal board praised the work that has gone on, with Chief Executive saying “the transformation of the building is amazing.”
Visit the grocery’s website for more information, or to volunteer or donate goods.
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